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Chapter Text

Morro walked the streets of Jamanakai, his feet swaying side to side in front of him, full of confidence. He has finally got a lead on the First Spinjitzu Master . After all this time, he might actually have gotten a lead! Morro kept his straw hat low, his deep red scarf covering the lower half of his face. 

Morro was like a ghost. No one noticed him, they just treated him like another villager passing by. That was his goal, To be ignored is to be completely hidden. He thought, remembering the wise words that were passed down to him.

Though he hated the man who taught him all those lessons, it would be a shame to not put them to use, right?

When he tried to find the tomb the first time, he almost died. That day he will never forget. Morro was presumed dead after a while. But, he wasn’t sad about this fact. In fact, Morro used this to his advantage. Morro went under the radar, training himself. His hair grow longer with age, and with time, he became wiser. Of course, he isn’t as old as the one who once trained him, but he had aged from what he once was.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom. Morro didn’t react, keeping his calm face. He didn’t bother to do anything, it wasn’t his problem after all. Although, he was curious. And the lead was in the town he was in, so it might be a good idea to check it out…

His curiosity got the better of him.

Morro turned the corner in the expectation of something great. Finding the source of the sound. It was a child, stealing… candy? Seriously? Morro groaned internally. He wasted time for nothing. 

He was about to turn when he suddenly felt a strong gust of wind that he didn’t cause. He immediately turned, to find himself widening his eyes. They stared at the dragons in the area. He quickly hid by some building, trying to be invisible. Although, he doesn’t have to try all that hard.  

“Haha! I was the first!” Morro heard, he looked over to find a ninja in red, similar to flames. “No! No one was faster than me!” A blue ninja replied. “Hahaha! My feet were down before yours!” A black ninja then said. “You were all disillusioned! It was clearly me!” A white ninja crossed his arms in protest.

4 ninja. And by the looks of it, they had elemental powers, just like I. 

“Come on guys! Don’t let your guard down!” The red one snapped, trying to stop the childish fight. Then there was laughter from the child that held hostage the candy, “It is I, Lloyd Garmadon!” Ah, so his name is Lloyd. Morro made a mental note, he felt as though he needed to remember the child’s name later.   “I demand all the candy in town, or else!” 

“Lloyd Garmadon? I thought we were going to face Lord Garmadon.” The blue one groaned, irritated with the wasted time, “It’s his son.” The black ninja said, huffing in disappointment, stomping his foot.

There was a point of back-and-forth arguing. Well, more of petty talking but even then. There was a talk of the serpentine, but, honestly, Morro didn’t care about the serpentine. “ Er... er... gimmie your candy or I'll release the serpentine on you!” Lloyd said he was hanging from a pole. The other villagers booed. Who would have thought that Garmadon’s son would be disrespected on this level? I mean, complete humiliation? These ninjas aren’t as good as they seem to be. 

And to make matters worse for Lloyd, they started to throw food at him. Huh , “ No way! I asked for candy, not vegetables! I hate vegetables!” Lloyd grunted, falling to the ground. But, seemed resilient. Not a single tear from his face. 

The ninja went on their own conversations, continuing to talk about the serpents. Morro thought they were… overrated. 

The child, Lloyd was completely ignored, having been humiliated. Morro couldn’t help but feel pity. Although, it seemed that the ninja wasn’t done with their taunting. They hung him up at a high place and hung a sign over his neck. 

They left Lloyd hanging. Morro sighed, who knew that ninja could be so cruel? He laughed at the irony as he thought of himself.

Once the ninja left on their dragons and the villagers returned to what they were doing before, Morro left. Sure, he felt bad for the boy that was hung up, but he isn’t stupid. He needed to find that lead, no matter the cost.

With his feet swaying in front of him, adventure called him once more. 

___

Some weeks passed with no luck. Morro felt as though that lead was true, and not just some false information. But, was he wrong ? Was the Master of Wind, someone of his power, wrong? Outrageous! 

He kicked a rock nearby in frustration. He yelled and groaned, running his hands through his hair. He cursed over and over again, pacing back and forth. 

Finally, he sat down on some boulder nearby. After all this time, there was still no sign of the tomb. Morro’s low ponytail came unloose, his straw hat on the ground. Morro held his head as he tried to think.

    Suddenly, a sound came from a nearby bush. Morro instantly stood up, grabbing his katana, “Who’s there?” He asked, harsh and cold. But came no reply, the bushes stood still, making no noise. Morro made a tsk sound, was he really going… mad?

    Morro sheathed his sword, putting it away in other words. But he stayed standing. He took a deep breath in, leaning down and grabbing his straw hat. He fixed his attire, looking proper once more. He always kept his mask, you never know who’s watching.

    Right as Morro was about to walk away, he heard another sound from the bushes. He looked back to find a child. It was Lloyd. Some part of him felt relieved. He wasn’t just going insane. But at the same time, there has been a child watching him the… entire time. If he could, he would reverse time itself. 

    Morro stood up straight, seeming proud. “Lloyd, wasn’t it?” Morro asked, trying to pretend that he wasn’t a complete mess. “Well, duh! I am Lloyd Garmadon, son of Lord Garmadon!”  Son of Lord Garmadon…

    “One ninja will rise above the others and becomes the Green Ninja, the ninja who will defeat the Dark Lord, ” 

Morro remembered when his former master, Wu, had told him about the prophecy about the Green Ninja, and how they would defeat the Dark Lord. Lord Garmadon. 

Maybe his son is the clue… Morro thought, smiling slyly. God, was he getting desperate. 

“Of course,” Morro started, “My name is Morro,” Morro stared at the boy, “Do you know where your father is?” He decided to be straightforward, it would be a waste of time if he just… stalled. “Obviously! Of course, I know where he is!” Lloyd crossed his arms, sticking out his tongue in annoyance. 

“Well? Where is he?” Morro snapped harshly, stomping his foot in impatience. “No! I wanna make a deal with you first!” Lloyd yelled, like a child. 

“A deal, huh? Well, what is it?” Morro asked, staring him down. Lloyd may be the child of Lord Garmadon, but he isn’t afraid of… striking him down , in a sense. “I wanna learn how to be a ninja!” Lloyd revealed, “But why? Why do you want to be a ninja?” You won’t be a ninja just because you want to, I won’t allow you to. Morro thought harshly.

“Well! If you didn’t know! The ninja, like the ones training under Sensei Wu, bullied me! They still do!” Those were Master Wu’s students? Well well, looks like he’s… downgraded his teachings, Morro thought, smiling to himself.

 Morro could conclude what Lloyd was about to say, “You want revenge ? Am I right?” Morro smirked as Lloyd nodded, “How–determined are you?” Morro asked, “Very very determined!” Lloyd replied. 

It was about time to get a student anyways. I mean, the son of Lord Garmadon? Not only that but the nephew of his former master? Morro grinned to himself, he just imagined his former master’s face. And, it was priceless.  

“Fine,” Morro approved. As Lloyd started to cheer to himself, Morro started again, “But, it won’t be easy. There will be no out of this, do you understand?” “Of course, ninja!” Morro scowled, “And another thing, it’s Master Morro. Do not call me anything else.” He stated, turning around.

Morro started to walk away, but he looked back to find Lloyd just standing there, “Well, are you coming?” Lloyd smiled, “Of course, Master Morro!” 

Morro laughed, he will be the green ninja. 

Chapter Text

    Morro regretted his decision to take Lloyd as his student. Lloyd is stubborn, a thief, and a trickster. Morro shuddered, remembering the many pranks Lloyd tried and sometimes succeeded at. No wonder he is the son of Lord Garmadon. Although, he had empathy and was kind at times. That part reminded Morro of someone from his past. 

    But, teaching Lloyd was almost impossible! He was distracted with everything almost 24/7! Morro frowned as he looked down at Lloyd. Lloyd kept going into the wrong stance even after Morro had told him how to, twice. 

    Morro had his legs crossed, trying to meditate on a boulder. Focus on the try part. Lloyd had kept interrupting him with his pathetic attempts at training. Morro’s eyebrows twitched, trying to keep his calm expression. He kept his eye on Lloyd nonetheless.

    He knew that he needed to try harder on training this stubborn brat. 

    “Keep your sword high,” Morro instructed, taking a break from meditating since that worked so well. Morro internally rolled his eyes. “No no, higher. Then keep your stance wide, not thin.” Lloyd did his best interpretation of what his master instructed. Morro then sighed, seeing that his new student couldn’t even do that! He jumped down from where he sat. Morro approached Lloyd, forcibly grabbing his wooden sword, his eyebrows twitching from anger.

    Lloyd made a face that a brat would make if their toy was taken away. Morro could tell that if he wasn’t Lloyd’s master, Lloyd would most likely have challenged him. But, Morro knew that he would lose instantly. 

    Morro then did the correct stance while looking down at Lloyd from the side, “ This is how you do it.” An ‘ooo’ sound came from Lloyd, it was stupid, really, “I got it, master!” A giggle came from Lloyd as he waited for Morro to give him back the sword. Morro stared at him, thinking it over. He tapped the sword, then reluctantly gave him the wooden sword.

    It's going to take some… patience with Lloyd. Unfortunately, Morro has no patience. 

    Morro continued to strictly guide Lloyd for hours, “Again,” He repeated over and over to Lloyd. Morro circled him, his arms behind his back. Lloyd on the other hand was soon becoming exhausted. His legs trembled, and his eyes grew weary. Lloyd dropped his sword, his palms covered in blisters as the hours passed. 

    “Master, can we please take a break? I’m tired.” Lloyd wined, looking up at his master. Although, when Lloyd looked up, he saw a face of anger, “Take a break? We’ve barely reached the surface! I tell you over and over again how to do it but you fail!” His master snapped, and the mask of calmness from before fell and broke. Like a vase when you play in the house too roughly.

    The wind started to pick up, very violently and quickly, “Lloyd, if you do not pick up your sword this very instant, you can forget your revenge against the ninja!” He yelled, the wind strongly swaying. Yet, Morro didn’t seem to mind, only paying mind to the boy in front of him. 

Lloyd felt like the sheep being hunted by the wolf. 

    Lloyd couldn’t breathe . He knew if he didn’t pick up the sword he would regret it. He slowly picked up the sword, his hands stinging right as his hands touched the wood. He hissed, tears forming but he suppressed them. He knew that if his master saw tears falling down his face, well, nothing good would come from it. Alas, Lloyd was determined to make sure the ninja and the snakes paid. After humiliating him and basically treating him as some pet , let's just say, there's a reason why Lloyd is the son of Lord Garmadon. 

 And the other reason he was doing this, was because of his dad. Maybe if Lloyd became strong and evil, his dad would come out of the underworld, or where ever he is. Well, that’s what Lloyd thought.

    “Good,” Morro smiled, the mask coming back up and the wind calming down, “Now, again.” Lloyd took stance, sticking out his tongue in concentration. Morro paused, then ah-ed, “Finally, you did it right.” He said, smirking. Maybe I can make this work. He thought, an evil intent behind his smile. 

    After an hour, they prepared to sleep for the night. Since they were in the forest, they set up camp. Morro lit a fire as Lloyd set up the camping beds. They both focused on the task they had. Silence encased them as if a spell has cursed them to never speak again. 

    That is when the exhaustion settled in. Lloyd’s limps pulsed with pain, nothing that he wasn’t used to of course. I mean, after the Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys, Lloyd got used to the mistreating. Lloyd lay down on of the camping beds, grass poking out of the sheets. Lloyd closed his eyes, falling asleep immediately. 

    Morro, on the other hand, stayed awake. No matter how much he would try, he never seemed to sleep. It was the only thing challenging to him. Morro needed to keep watch, either way, there may not seem to be any danger, but there are always enemies lurking around the corner. Morro learned that the hard way. 

    Morro looked at his new student. He will shape him into a powerful ninja. He will show his former master that he is a better master than his former master ever was. It’ll take time, but it’ll be worth it. Won’t it? Morro decided not to think about it too hard. 

    If he did, he felt like everything he has done so far would be for nothing. Just a big adventure with no reward. Morro had been alone for so long.

    Morro continued to watch. Time passed, the moon on its apex. The time when most dangers are out. Even the ones that aren’t exactly… human. Morro is on his highest guard when this time comes around. He kept his hand on the handle of his katana, prepared for anything. 

    He listened to the noises around him, the way the leaves ruffled in the wind, the echoes the cicadas made. Everything. There have been many nights like this, where Morro had to vend for himself against the nightly creatures. It didn’t help that he basically had an infant ninja in training with him. 

    Crack . Morro expected this. He instantly unsheathed his sword, ready to attack. A loud, almost monstrous roar came from the direction he was facing. More noises came around, except in the opposite direction from where Morro stood. 

    Whatever this thing was, it was fast. 

    And dangerous. 

    Morro made a tsk sound. Something told him that it wasn’t going to be a good idea to fight this monster. Call it, intuition. Morro looked back at his student who was deep asleep. You would assume he was dead. Morro quickly nudged the boy, failing the first couple of times. 

    “Lloyd, wake up.” He commanded, but nothing seemed to work. The boy only continued to snore. He most definitely needed to work on that as well. Morro used his wind to violently wake the boy, “Huh?” The boy said, drowsily. 

    “Good, you're finally awake,” Morro said, turning around. He noticed that the fire was still lit, that was most likely the reason why the beast found them. He cursed to himself as he stomped on the fire. “Master, it’s like, the middle of the night,” Lloyd mumbled, rubbing his eyes. 

    “Come on, hurry,” Morro hushed, grabbing Lloyd’s arm and dragging him to his feet. Lloyd opened his mouth to say something, but Morro forcibly shut his mouth and shook his head. Lloyd only looked at him in confusion.

    Whatever that monster was, it was definitely not one to be messed with. 

    Thump . 

    Thump .

    Morro wasted no time as he dragged Lloyd away. “Master, slow down!” Lloyd exclaimed as he was dragged against the dirt. Morro made a tsk sound, grabbing Lloyd and throwing him over his shoulder, and continued to run.

    Morro looked back to find devastation, trees snapped and fell. Morro saw a blurry black figure jumping from tree to tree. He cursed himself, he shouldn’t have made camp so deep in the forest. He didn’t know those types of creatures would be there. 

    Lloyd on the other hand didn’t know what was going on. His heart lept through the clouds. He shouldn’t be scared but he is. I mean, his master seemed completely fine, so he should be too, right?

    Morro continued to run, but he could feel the creature growing near. He clenched his teeth. Suddenly, he saw some fireflies nearby. He headed in that direction. Morro held his breath as he turned around, what seems like thousands of fireflies flew in the direction of the monster, mostly because they were startled. 

    Morro then used the wind, pushing the creature further away from them. The creature then screeched inhumanly. Morro’s ears started to ring, but he persisted, keeping Lloyd under his wing. 

    Usually, he would let others under the bus, leaving them to die. But, this is the son of Lord Garmadon . And, let's be honest, he isn’t going to stay in the underworld forever. Morro shuddered, imagining the wrath of Lord Garmadon if he killed his only son. 

    Speaking of Lloyd, let’s just say that he’s not so hot at this point in time. He covered his mouth with his free hand, staring at the black figure. Morro patted his head, Lloyd looked up at him in almost, surprise? Morro made sure he looked composed, his own version of trying to calm Lloyd down. 

    Morro slowly put Lloyd on the grass, making sure not to make a single noise. Though the monster was temporarily blinded by the fireflies, it was still very close to them. Too close. At least, for Morro’s liking. 

    Morro felt the wind, he closed his eyes. He breathed in, concentrating on the feeling of the wind. He then pushed the wind, making a flow of wind in the opposite direction they were in. Morro redirected their scents to the direction they weren’t in. The monster screeched once more before making a hast ‘chase’.

    Morro let out a sigh of relief, then looked back to his student. Lloyd’s mouth was wide open, his eyes huge in, what Morro thinks, is amazement. “Woah, master that was so cool!” Lloyd basically shouted, a huge grin on his face. Morro quickly shushed him, “Come on, we need to go before that thing knows we actually aren’t over there.” 

Morro may hide it, but he was proud of himself for showing off in a way. 

Chapter Text

    It took some caution, (Morro thought back on the man-eating bats and the wolves they encountered, but he just used his wind to set them off. Of course, it was dangerous, but they managed to get out with minimum injuries.) but, he and Lloyd finally got out of that wretched forest after some time. Morro made a mental note never to go to that forest ever again. Almost shuddering every time he thought of that thing that hid in the shadows.  

They walked through the plains. It was the outskirts of the forest, so they could still see the forest nearby. Morro paused, making Lloyd pause with him. He looked around, seeing the flowers and some occasional trees. They were still on the outskirts of the forest after all.

That's when Morro spotted another village; Morro just scrunched his eyebrows together. How did he miss this? It was just outside of the forest. He could understand why Lloyd would miss it, but him? No, he didn’t believe it. 

    “Master, is there something wrong?” Lloyd asked, seeming as if there wasn’t anything wrong. Of course, he wouldn’t think any wrong, he’s just a kid . Morro tried to think, taking a moment, he wouldn’t know anything.

“No… nothing, Lloyd,” Morro replied, reassuring Lloyd. Although, Morro kept on worrying. It was so convenient that this village just happened to be here when they lost all their supplies. Morro wanted to stay away, he had a bad feeling about this. 

But did they have a choice? If this is a harmless village then it would be stupid to just ignore it, right? But Morro’s gut told him to run and never return, but his mind yelled at him to go to that town. Ah, what the hell, you only live once, right? Morro tried to make better of their situation, but that small sliver of paranoia stayed. 

Morro reluctantly guided him and his student to the village. He kept looking back behind his shoulder and biting his lips. Once they reached the outskirts, Morro took extra caution. He kept Lloyd under his cloak, like a hawk and its children. “Hey! I can protect myself!” Lloyd exclaimed, flailing around, trying to get out of Morro’s grasp. Morro rolled his eyes, then smacked the back of Lloyd’s head, “What was that for?!” Lloyd exclaimed, frowning.

Morro paid no attention to his student's annoying side remarks, he was more focused on their surroundings as they went in further into the town. It seemed normal, but if you look closely enough, it was the farthest thing from it. 

Morro could see the demons through their disguises. 

He cursed to himself, he should’ve listened to his gut. What was with him recently? He’s been off recently and he doesn’t like it. But what he found especially weird, is the fact that none of them are attacking him and Lloyd. Sure, he knows of deceiving, but no demon has come up to them at all. Most demons had tried to… trick Morro in the past. 

And it’s not like no one has noticed them, they’ve gotten plenty of stares. Nonetheless, Morro kept a lookout. They entered an outdoor market, it seemed normal. Having normal human goods on display, Morro knew it was just a trick. “Master, master!” Lloyd exclaimed, walking up to the candy-themed areas, seeming excited, “Can we get candy? Please! Pretty please!” Lloyd begged, his eyes huge, like a child. 

Morro just dragged him away from the candy stands, non-verbally saying no. Lloyd pouted, still begging Morro. Morro stopped, then looked at his student, “Do not forget who I am, Lloyd.” He said sternly. They didn’t have time for petty wants. Lloyd only pouted more, but less noticeably. Lloyd knew it wasn’t exactly a good idea to piss off his master at this current time. 

Though Morro didn’t exactly want to risk it, they needed some type of supplies. Morro didn’t like getting help, he was strong. But, in a situation like this, it was inevitable. 

While Morro panicked, Lloyd didn’t care. Sure, he noticed the stares, he wasn’t stupid, but he got them all the time! What was wrong? Either way, he had this feeling of, familiarity? Maybe his dad was here before he was and that was the reason why he felt like this. I mean, his dad visited a bunch of places, so Lloyd doesn’t see why this one would be any different! 

Maybe that’s why he got so many stares, it was because they knew he was the son of Garmadon! Lloyd grinned. 

He could tell his master was worried, even if he didn’t show it, and he shrugged. Suddenly, from the corner of Lloyd’s eye, he saw a ninja. They wore black, but he could tell it wasn’t Cole. Far from it. Lloyd tugged on his Master’s cloak, gaining his attention, “What is it, Lloyd?” Morro asked, harshly. 

Lloyd turned his head over to the ninja, as did his master. 

But the ninja was gone. Morro looked at Lloyd in disapproval, “There was a ninja over there,” Lloyd quickly said, “I swear!” Morro just continued to walk, ignoring his student’s nonsense. Lloyd was left baffled, was he just imagining things? No way! He knows there was a ninja there! He just knows it!

Suddenly, a demon came up to the two, a grin on its face. But, it held no malice, it confused Morro so, “Ah, you must be new here! Are you travelers or newly moved-in residents?” The demon asked, seeming kind, but Morro ignored it. Morro walked past the demon, bumping its shoulder as he did, but the demon just came up to him once more. 

“I asked you a question, please answer it.” He could tell that the demon was getting angry, but didn’t show it. It was exactly what Morro did when he was mad. Morro made a tsk noise, annoyed with their situation. “Um, we’re travelers!” Lloyd said before his master said anything the both would regret, “We just came from that forest over there!” Lloyd pointed at the forest, a smile on his face. 

“Oh really?” The demon purred, “And you came back in one piece? Quite impressive.” Lloyd shrugged, “Well, we weren’t in the forest, more of traveling on the outskirts! We wouldn’t have made as far as we did if we went through the forest!”

    Morro silently praised Lloyd for lying so easily . Most children don’t have this ability, usually, it has to be taught. But it seems that it comes to his student fairly easily. 

Morro nodded to Lloyd’s statement, agreeing with him. “Oh really? Most travelers don’t even survive an hour in that forest, even if you were just traveling on the outskirts,” The demon stated, looking delighted, “ It’s a good thing you have an oni as a student, isn’t it? ” An oni? “Of course, why do you think I choose him?” I should’ve known, with his father being an oni, of course, my student is going to be one as well. He thought, scolding himself.

“You know how many monsters there are! The more deadly they get the more you travel inside the forest!” The demon laughed, “Well, my student and I fought together. It became easy by teaming up.” Morro stated, his own mask falling into place. 

“It’s always nice to see two demons working together, most of us just fight all day!” Yeah, I noticed. Morro thought, wait, did it just say I’m a demon? Though Morro was like a demon, he never thought of the idea of people thinking he was. 

His mask fell, anger falling onto his face. He remembered the many times when he was called a demon by how he acted or his ambitions. It wasn’t fair . 

 “Tell me, what type of demon are you?” I’m not a demon . Morro unsheathed his katana, then held it right at the demon in front of him, “The type isn't afraid to strike you where you stand.” His face contorted one of fury. 

There was silence, uncomfortable silence. The only noises were the other demons in the background, chattering and being aggressive. 

Then the demon laughed, almost manically, “Haha, I like your spirit!” Morro didn’t give a reaction, only keeping his stern expression. Lloyd was the second to laugh, although, Morro could tell it was more out of nervousness rather than being humorous. 

“Let me show you around, travelers! You must have gone through such a journey in the Aokigahara forest!” The demon laughed, “That's a long name.” Lloyd mumbled to himself, seeming shocked or amazed. Morro heard of this forest, it was also called the Sea of Trees.

It was no wonder why the demon was so shocked that they made it out there alive, seeing that that forest isn’t exactly the safest, let's just say. 

“No thank you, we’d rather just continue on our journey.” Morro stated, “But master!” Lloyds exclaimed, Morro hit him in the back of his head, scolding him. “Come on, master, you’re disappointing the kid! We wouldn’t want to do that, now do we?” The demon tried to persuade him, but Morro didn’t fall for it. He knew the type. 

“Come on, we are leaving.” He dragged Lloyd away. Morro could tell right away that he angered that demon and the fact that they face the consequences later. But, he also knows that if he went with said demon, then they would’ve been in a whole new rabbit hole.

It seemed as though only that demon wanted to bother them because from there on out, nothing else had caused an issue for them. As Morro thought for the 50th time that day, he thought it was weird. 

They soon exited the village. Morro let out a sigh of relief come out, though he was angry. They wasted time for nothing . 

“Was what you said true?” Lloyd randomly asked, “Was what true?” Morro looked down at his student. Lloyd fidgeted with his fingers, he could tell was nervousness, “That you only picked me because I was part oni?” Morro sighed, looking forward, “No, I didn’t see you as an oni.” He stated, “I still don’t.” 

Morro didn’t care. All he cared about was being strong. Lloyd wasn’t strong, he was weak. What was the point of being an oni if you only were weak? It’s stupid. 

___

Days passed, and Morro and Lloyd eventually did get their supplies, some food, and a couple of boxes of matches. Though, it was truly an annoying experience. Morro hated wasting time, it could’ve been used for something more worthy. 

Lloyd kept thinking back on the ninja from before. It confused him. Why was there a ninja there anyways? Billions of questions floating around. Though, Morro had told him that it didn’t matter, “It isn’t in the now, so why concern yourself with it? It is only when it becomes a problem should it be a concern.” He recalled his master telling him. 

But it still was there, still there when Lloyd had nothing else to think about. Still there when he looked down on the ground, still there when he ate. It was becoming annoying to him, like a puzzle that you just couldn’t solve. 

His master snapped his fingers in front of him, “Pay attention,” Master coldly scolded him. Lloyd instantly snapped back to reality, almost frightened. His master sighed as he continued his lesson. 

Lloyd bit his bottom lip, he could tell that his master was tired of him. He didn’t want to be a burden . He wants to be strong! Like his dad! Lloyd smiled at the idea, thinking of the people kneeling before him. 

“Do you know how to use spinjitzu?” His master asked, breaking Lloyd’s train of thoughts. Lloyd shook his head, almost in shame. Even though his dad and his uncle knew spinjitzu, they never bothered to teach him. I mean, they weren’t even there in his life in the first place, so how could he know? 

    “It isn’t simple, and it is certainly not easy either,” Morro stated, pacing back and forth as if he was thinking. “I can do it!” Lloyd stood up, seeming confident, yet his master only stared at him, his eyes dark. Almost in a threatening way. 

    “Can’t I?” Lloyd asked, now confused. Sure, he's the son of the almighty Garmadon. But, if he'd learned anything during this experience, is that titles aren’t going to do anything. It’s action.  

    Morro taught him that the hard way. 

    His master only continued to stare at him, not giving a reply. Then it broke, and he continued to pace back and forth, but in a more… harsher manner. “I’ll put you on a training routine, that’ll help you with your spinjitzu and your physical strength.” His master informed him, and Lloyd quickly nodded, putting all of his attention on his master. 

    The thought of being strong is what motivated him. Lloyd knew he was weak, I mean, the boys back at school used to bully him all the time for being the weak one. He knew they were right. Though, he wanted to change that. He wants to prove those people wrong. 

    And this is just what he needs. 

    Though, his smile soon faded when he heard the routine. It was so much . 

    Morro set up a training area, but there were many obstacles. 

Lloyd was forced to start right after his master finished the training area. He kept his head high, though that didn’t stop him from getting a kick in the stomach. He bit his lip as he tried to concentrate on the obstacles to avoid him, but he found himself not fast enough.

But, every time he fell, he was told to get up and try again. It was harsh, sure, but Lloyd kept his determination. He did it over and over. But, he made little improvements. He fell for the same traps over and over. 

“Come on, do better,” Morro commanded, his face fierce. Lloyd got up every time, his stance getting worse and worse each time. He bit his tongue, almost drawing blood. He knew from last time, that it wasn’t a good idea to ask for a ‘break’. 

If it weren’t for the fact that he was so exhausted. He probably would have thought back on it more. 

But, Lloyd kept insisting. Never giving up. I mean, that was the first rule of being a ninja is to never give up. Sure, he was still a ninja in training , but that didn’t matter! Lloyd tried to keep his positive thoughts afloat, but he knew it wouldn’t last long. 

Lloyd kneeled and leaned onto his knees for support. He isn’t giving up, just taking a breather. 

“Did I say to take a break?” Morro asked, his face stern. Lloyd shook his head, then continued the hellish training arena. He felt like this would never end. Every minute felt like an hour. Lloyd wished it to end already. 

Lloyd tripped over one of the rocks in the training area. He fell on the floor, bruised and cut up. He tried to get up, but he couldn’t . His limbs ached with both exhaustion and pain. Lloyd put his forearms underneath him, trying to lift himself. 

“I thought you wanted to be a ninja.” Lloyd could tell his master was angry, but he couldn’t muster the energy to look at him, “Have you changed your mind? Have you decided that being a ninja was too hard for you, huh?” 

Lloyd gasped and panted, he trembled where he lay. It’s not fair! Lloyd thought. I’m just a kid . This isn’t fair! His positive thoughts became cruel and vial, cursing every being in the world.

Unspoken rage came over him. Lloyd slowly got up from where he lay. He coughed as he rested his hands on his legs and tried to catch his breath. His eyes burned with determination. 

He looked up at his master. But, it wasn’t an angry expression. He looked, pleased? Lloyd will never be able to get his master’s logic. 

“Take a break, you’re done for the day.” His master told him, nodding. Lloyd instantly beamed, a smile implanted on his face. Lloyd didn’t waste any time as he made his way to the sidelines of the death arena, basically dragging himself. It hurt, sure, but he didn’t want to be anywhere near that stupid death trap.

Honestly, Lloyd never wants to see it ever again. If he could, he would kill that arena over and over.

He could feel pain… everywhere. God , was he exhausted. Lloyd laid his cheek against a wooden log. He looked at his master as Morro approached the area. Lloyd stared at him, his mind empty. 

His master attempted to do the training routine and succeeded. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Lloyd, seeing that his master was both a ninja and a Master of Wind. But, Lloyd convinced himself that it was impossible. 

Though, he didn’t stay awake long enough to talk to his master about it. 

Chapter Text

    It’s been roughly two weeks since the monster, the demon village, and all the stressful work after it. It honestly gave Morro a headache when he thought back on it. But, that didn’t matter now. What mattered is getting to Stiix.

    He hoped Stiix had what he needed. 

    Whilst traveling to Stiix, Morro trained Lloyd.

Lloyd always tried his best, well, when his master was looking he made sure not to slack off. He thought of the times when he would lie down on the floor while his master was out of view, then he would instantly stand up and pretend he was doing the exercises he was taught the entire time. It was risky lying to his master, but he couldn’t help it. It was almost in his nature if you thought about it. 

Although Morro always told him that he could be a warrior no matter his age, Lloyd felt restricted by how young he was. It made him feel small. His age was easily his biggest insecurity. Morro knew this, but he never seemed to be able to make Lloyd see that he could use his age to his advantage. 

    When Lloyd wasn’t training, his master taught him. It wasn’t anything ninja related, more of education. Like, math or reading. Morro knew that even though ninjas fight, they still needed some education. He didn’t want his student to be stupid . 

    Especially the fact that Lloyd is supposed to continue in school. Morro looked into the school he was going to, it barely had anything educational. It was some stupid teaching of how to be a villain. 

Though, when Morro tried to teach, his student didn’t exactly get things the first time. Most of the time, Morro would have to go through the topic multiple times. Most of the time it was math, but, he knew that math was a difficult subject for some people. Though, it didn’t help that Lloyd got distracted very easily. But, Morro had gotten used to it after a while. 

The only times he would get angry with Lloyd is when he purposely did something to tick him off. Like prank him or do something stupid. He remembered the many times Lloyd tricked him into walking into some stupid thing, or splashing him with water when he wasn’t looking. 

It was mostly calm when Lloyd had nothing to do, he would play video games during this time. Just some portable games that he would steal when they came across a town. Morro knew his old master would never condemn stealing, nor would other ninja masters, but he was different. Every master was different, from their teaching methods to their morals, and Morro was just that. 

Morro and Lloyd traveled a lot, but Lloyd didn’t exactly know why . I mean, it got Lloyd used to the road. But even then, he didn’t understand the purpose of traveling 24/7. Lloyd felt like it was stupid, but he didn’t care enough to make his master mad. He shuddered, thinking back at the times when he did make him mad. 

Lloyd had his legs crossed, crunching on the chocolate bar he was eating, having one of his portable video games in hand. Usually, they needed to be replaced every once in a while, which is the only complaint that Lloyd had. His master, on the other hand, was making a lesson plan for Lloyd. 

Honestly, Morro never thought that being a master would be so hard. If he had known that it would be this difficult, he wouldn’t even consider getting a student! Morro internally groaned. 

    What made it so much better is the fact that Morro has been tracking leads for them to go nowhere! Ugh! Morro dropped his clipboard to the ground, taking a break from thinking. He took off his straw hat, letting it lie on the floor. He looked back at Lloyd, who did nothing but play. 

    He sighed. He pondered for a moment if he should get up. Though he really didn’t want to, he got up to his feet. He stretched his arms. It felt nice after sitting for a while. 

    “Whatcha doing master?” Lloyd asked, still focused on his stupid video game. Morro turned around, picking up his straw hat, “Come on, let's go.” Morro commanded, his voice stern. Morro picked up his lesson plans and put them inside his robe. 

    His student yawned, then got up. Lloyd jogged up to where Morro was, a smile implanted on his face. It seemed as though that Lloyd has already gotten used to the road, Morro thought, very good.  

    Morro could tell that they were getting closer to Stiix. Morro’s goal was to go through the undermarket and try to find out some more information about The First Spinjitzu Master’s tomb. 

    Though he knew the leak he’ll be given would be fake, he still held out hope. He didn’t want to believe he did this all for nothing . 

    One thing he was happy about, is the fact that Lloyd didn’t question him, well he did, but not like he did when he first started to travel with Morro. He could tell the improvement in Lloyd, even when Lloyd thought he had made no improvements. 

    And maybe going to the Stiix was a good thing for Lloyd as well, Morro thought of Lloyd’s ribcage hoodie. Yeah, he definitely needed to get Lloyd some better clothing. However, he needed to ensure people didn’t know where they were. If people found out they were in Stiix, it would be a problem. 

    Sure, Morro is still presumed dead, but Lloyd sure isn’t. The moment people realize that the son of lord Garmadon is traveling with someone that isn't even in government records, then problems would arise. Morro doesn’t exactly want to deal with those problems. 

    Especially the fact that Morro is… infamous in Stiix. He knew to keep his guard up there. 

    Morro sighed, turning his attention to Lloyd, who was by his side, “Lloyd,” He called out, grabbing the attention of his student, “Come here.” Once Lloyd did, Morro tied his straw hat on Lloyd’s head, “There, that'll keep your identity under wraps for a little while,” He told him, adjusting it to fit his head better. 

    “Why do I have to keep my identity secret, master?” Lloyd asked out of instinct. He was curious, of course, he would be. Morro continued to walk, his student immediately following him, “That doesn’t matter, just make sure you don’t get revealed to others.” 

    Lloyd nodded. He knew that his master had a good reason for doing the things he did, so of course, he did the things he was told to do. (Sometimes he didn’t, he remembered the many times he was scolded for hours and got punished for doing so. Though, the pranks were worth it sometimes.) 

    They continued to walk, every step, every landmark, closer to Stiix. Morro could tell none of it was familiar to Lloyd, but it was familiar to Morro. After all, he used to call that sorry excuse of a city, home. 

    Morro could tell they were there by the seemingly endless water with docks around. Stiix was like a haven for criminals and thieves. You would think that was a good thing for them, and it was. But, it has its cons. Morro didn’t care about those who pickpockets or those who try to pick fights. No, he could always deal with them. 

    It’s those who are feared but respected. It was hard to get someone to respect you, especially those who don’t care for the rules and only think of themselves. 

    Morro made sure that his scarf covered most of his face. He looked down at Lloyd, he could tell he was excited. Probably for some new game he was going to steal or some candy his eyes caught interest in. 

    “This isn’t Ninjago City, you have to be more careful here.” Morro stated, not showing a single concern in his voice. But, Lloyd could tell he cared, but he decided not to tease his master about it. 

    “Do you like the city, master?” Lloyd asked, trying to start small talk. Thinking about it, he really didn’t know anything about his master. Maybe that’ll change in the future. 

           Morro loved the city, and absolutely adored it. He enjoyed every tall building, he loved how fast-paced everything was. Everyone had their own lives, and no one really cared about you until you started to make friends, and even then, it's like having your own life with no distractions.

    Morro nodded to his student’s question. Though, he never asked that question to Lloyd. He didn’t seem to care enough to. 

           Although Morro liked the city, Lloyd never felt the same. Honestly, he was imitated by the bright lights and the loud noises. There was too much. It didn’t feel like his life. It was too complicated.

           Sure, he enjoyed the views. But it wasn’t his life. The thought of living in a city, like Ninjago City, felt like a dream, something that isn’t real. It bothered him in a way nothing else could.

    Morro made sure they were covered by the shadows. Morro guided Lloyd to the alleyways, slowly getting closer to their destination. All he could do was hope that they didn’t get caught. 

    Once they reached the bad side of town, as people call it, Morro kept an eye on Lloyd at all times. He knew all the evilness here. He knew it wasn’t safe for a child, but there wasn’t anywhere else he could take Lloyd. It would be too dangerous to leave him by himself, you never know what could happen! And he needs to train him anyways, Lloyd still needs help with his spinjitzu after all. 

    Suddenly, it was that demon town all over again. Like he was magically transported back to that town. He could feel the presence of the demon they encountered. But, he knew he wasn’t there. Morro could tell that this was an illusion created by something unnatural. 

    Morro closed his eyes and breathed in and out. In and out. In and out. He repeated over and over before opening his eyes to find the scene he was at before. When he looked down at his student, he found nothing but concern, maybe some fear. 

    “You okay?” Lloyd asked, his eyes big. He honestly looked as if he was going to cry. Morro rolled his eyes, “What are you, a baby? Yes, I’m fine.” Honestly, it was nice for someone to care for him. Morro forgot what that was like years ago. 

    “I am not a baby! You zoned out on me! You scared me!” Lloyd elbowed Morro, almost in a fit. Morro ignored it, then continued to drag Lloyd with him. Now, Morro has had many nightmares in his life that would reappear during the day, but he knew what just happened wasn’t entirely his fault. 

    Morro knew he needed to take extra precautions from here on out. 

    Although, Lloyd was still worried about Morro. It seemed so abrupt and it scared him in a way. I mean, he understood just zoning out regularly, he did it all the time, even when he doesn’t mean to. But, it seemed like Morro was just somewhere else . 

    Maybe he was dissociating or something? He knew what that was like too, but something in him said that didn’t fit either. Lloyd shrugged, he knew it was going to come up sooner or later. 

    Though his curiosity wanted to know sooner, his gut told him it would be better to know later. Lloyd tried not to think about it too much. But, like that ninja, his mind wouldn’t let it rest. 

    Lloyd followed everywhere his master went, but he just felt like they were going in circles. I mean, no direction that Morro went it didn’t make a lick of sense! 

 “Hey master, do you know where we’re going? Like–I’m not saying we’re lost or anythin’, but it’s just-” 

“It’s just the fact you don’t know where we are. We aren’t lost, I’ve been here many times to visit my… dealer of sorts.” Morro informed. Lloyd was relieved that they weren’t lost, but he was curious, who was this dealer? 

    “Your dealer?” Lloyd asked, tilting his head to the side. Morro nodded, not saying a word. They merely just kept walking, “Um, who’s your dealer?” Lloyd could tell he was on the fine line between crossing Morro, “Well, you just have to wait, now don’t you?” His master spat out.

    Morro didn’t like to be questioned, it was kinda obvious that he didn’t. I mean, you can just tell by the way he acts, confident and impatient. It was just who he was. Lloyd thought that nobody could try to change him, no matter how hard they tried. 

    Lloyd didn’t say another word after that. He didn’t want to risk his master snapping at him. 

    They stopped at a breaking-down shop. Lloyd didn’t understand why they were there. It was like a giant wooden shack, just bigger. Yet, Morro didn’t question it at all. Morro pushed the door, it opened with ease. He walked in as if it was his own home.

    Lloyd was careful to take his steps. He felt like the floor beneath them could collapse at any moment. 

    Lloyd looked around. It seemed like a pawn shop more than anything. There were things from bows and arrows to sharpened spears. Or scrolls to random gadgets that Lloyd has never seen before.

    Then Lloyd spotted a counter, and behind that counter was a door. It was probably used to store the other stuff that didn’t fit the display around, Lloyd thought. Some of the comic stores he would go to would do the same thing, leave the boring stuff in the back, and take the interesting things in the front. 

“Welcome welcome!” A rough voice from behind the door said. Lloyd could tell was an older man, probably one who fought a lot. “What would you like, some weapons or?” The man came out from the back. 

“Oh, it’s you, Morro.” The man smirked. He wore an eyepatch on his left eye, and he also wore a straw hat, it was like Lloyd’s, but red. He didn’t seem angry whilst seeing Morro, more pleased. 

“Oh-ho, looks like you brought someone with you this time, you don’t see that every day, now do ya?” The man walked to Lloyd, kneeling to see Lloyd better, “Now, who are you?” The man was about to take off Lloyd’s hat until Morro slapped his hand away. 

“We’re here for business, not for some goose hunt that doesn’t matter.” Morro said, “But, don’t you already do that?” 

“What did you say?” His master asked, clenching his fists.

The man offered his hand to Lloyd, “Name’s Ronin.” Lloyd took his hand and shook it. Suddenly, the next thing Lloyd knew, his hat was off. Lloyd merely just went wide-eyed.

“Oh now I see, you're the son of Lord Garmadon, huh?” Ronin asked, a smug look on his face as he held his hat above where Lloyd couldn’t reach it, “Yeah, and what about it?!” Lloyd exclaimed. He merely assumed that Ronin was just making fun of him.

It happened a lot, if it weren’t for Lloyd’s red eyes, nobody would believe he was Garmadon’s son in the first place. 

“Stop teasing him,” Morro grabbed the straw hat, the wiped off Ronin’s germs. “Whatcha got a kid traveling with ya for?” Ronin asked, raising an eyebrow but keeping his smile on his face. Morro rolled his eyes, “That’s my business, not yours.” Ronin chuckled, “Yeah, your right. Speaking of, what are ya doin’ here in the first place?” 

Morro sighed, “I need more information.” Ronin shook his head, it almost seemed to be in disappointment, maybe some pity as well, “Sorry Morro, all the information I had was already given to you.”

Morro made a tsk sound. Morro was afraid of this. 

Now, Lloyd was super curious, what information? Are they hunting down some super duper cool treasure and that was why he and Morro were traveling like all the time? Thousands of unrealistic thoughts went through Lloyd’s head. 

What can you say? Lloyd has a big imagination after all. 

“Maybe ya missed a clue or two back at Jamanakai village? Ever thought ‘bout that?” Ronin asked, flapping his hand around as he spoke. Morro put a hand on his chin, seeming like he was thinking, “We’ll go check over there just in case, thank you Ronin.” 

“Any time for a returning customer, and a friend.” Ronin said, winking his right eye. Or blinking, he was wearing an eyepatch so Lloyd couldn’t really tell.

    As Morro and Lloyd were about to turn around and leave, Ronin stopped them, “Hey hey! Come on, you traveled all this way, ain’t ya gonna buy anythin’?” Ronin tried to persuade as if he has done this a hundred times before. “We don’t have time for this Ronin,” Morro stated, Lloyd knew he wasn’t afraid of destroying the shack with Ronin in it. 

“Come on, what ‘bout the kid over here?” Ronin looked at Lloyd, almost mischievously, “Look at his eyes, deep red. I’m sure people would go to high risks to have ‘em you know.” Lloyd gulped, “Yes, I’m very aware. Do you take me as an imbecile? What are you suggesting, huh?” 

“What I’m suggestin’ is that you buy some of the brown contacts I got in the back. You don’t want to risk getting the kid hurt? And I don’t think you want people to find out you’re alive, now do we?” Morro clenched his teeth, he did enjoy Ronin’s company sometimes, but sometimes Ronin was just a dick. 

“Fine, tell me the price,” Morro asked, giving in to Ronin’s deal. 

Afterward, Morro taught Lloyd how to put in the contacts. And, as much as Morro doesn’t want to say it, he was right. Lloyd completely fits in. You would think he was just a regular kid who plays video games a little too much. 

“Come on, Lloyd. We don’t have all day to stare at ourselves.” Morro stated his voice stern. Lloyd was looking at himself in the reflection of the dirty water, “Coming!” He yelled, running back to his master’s side.

They walked their way out of the Stiix. Lloyd knew where they were going now, to Jamanakai Village. 

Chapter Text

    It hasn’t been long since their encounter with Ronin. Hell, Morro could still see Stiix in view. (Lloyd could still smell the fish and salty water. It wasn’t his… ‘favorite’ smell.) Although, it seemed as though some of their supplies didn’t survive, seeing they had less from when they first entered Stiix. Morro knew it was the pickpockets who stole their things. 

    He really didn’t care, all he cared about was that his student was okay. 

    Honestly, they were just lucky that they made it out there without a fight. He shuddered as he remembered when he and Ronin first meet. Morro was trying to cause fights, as always, but Ronin was the one who actually accepted his fight. Everyone else was too scared to. Like the cowards they are.

    But, right now that didn’t matter. What mattered was going to Jamanaki Village. 

    Though, Morro felt some doubts. Did he really miss something? Maybe it was connected to someone, maybe to his former master in a way. He knew that the Monastery of Spinjitzu was nearby. Maybe it was the place itself. He also knew that his former master was also the son of the First Spinjitzu Master. He tsked.

    Of course, it would be with someone who he would never be able to go back to.  

    He looked at Lloyd, especially his eyes, and he couldn’t stop thinking about how the fact he looked normal. That was what Morro wanted when he was younger, to be normal . In his mind, it wasn’t normal to have lived on the streets, it wasn’t normal to be taken in to be trained as a ninja, and it wasn’t normal that he was chasing a dream… that was never his.

    But, he didn’t care. He didn’t care that being the green ninja will never happen. 

    Or, at least, that’s what he made himself believe. 

    Though, he knew that Lloyd was far from normal. He felt pity from time to time, but that didn’t matter. 

    “What is it, master?” Lloyd asked, he expected his master to answer, but he didn’t. He just stared at him, as if he was out of place. It was weird. Suddenly, his master snapped back in a way. It was like he was lost in his own train of thought and Lloyd seemed to wake him up. 

    Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows together, what was that? He thought, his master never seemed to be like this, at least, from the time knowing him he knew he didn’t. It was weird enough with what happened to Morro in Stiix, and now it's happening again? 

    Lloyd was worried for his master.

    “No, it’s nothing, Lloyd.” His master said, he looked ahead. Lloyd doubted his master’s words, “You sure? Come on, I might be a kid, but I know how adults feel and stuff.” Lloyd nudged his Morro with his elbow. Morro knew that Lloyd actually didn’t know anything, that he was just trying to comfort him.

    Lloyd liked to say that he knew things that he didn’t actually know about. He realized that long ago. 

    “I’m fine, Lloyd. Stop pressing on the matter.” Morro stated, almost in a cold tone. Lloyd sighed, “I’m just sayin’.” He grumbled his hands in his stupid hoodie with the ribcage. It was silent then.

    Morro liked silent. But sometimes it was too much when it was too silent. 

    Sometimes, Morro thought he went too far. Not just the way he treated Lloyd, but with other people. He remembered when his master had gotten on to him for treating his other classmates too harshly. He couldn’t help it, it was in his nature. 

    Morro remembered the fearful looks from his fellow ninja when he entered the room. He remembered feeling pride that he made so many fear him. But thinking back on it, it wasn’t something he should’ve taken pride in. 

No matter how much he wanted to change, he never could. It was just something Morro couldn’t do. 

“Oh,” Lloyd said, getting Morro out of his thoughts once more, “hey master? Do you want your hat back?” Lloyd asked, ready to take it off. Morro looked at him, “Keep it, think of it as a reward for your hard work.” It wasn’t worthy of being a reward, but it was the only thing that Morro could give him at that time.  

He could tell that Lloyd expected more, but he liked the hat either way. He put it on his back, it hung on his neck, his blond hair exposed. 

Lloyd started small talk. It was nice. Although, Lloyd did most of the talking. He talked about some comic book he got some time ago. It was called Starfarer. It sounded stupid in Morro's opinion, but to Morro, almost everything was stupid. 

But, from what Morro was told, It was about a samurai in space. In space, really? That was the most absurd thing that Morro ever heard and Morro has heard lots of things. 

But he could also tell that Lloyd really enjoyed the comic. That was the only reason why he wasn’t bashing and criticizing it where they walked. (When did he get so soft? He tried to think about it, but he didn’t find the cause.)

“Yeah, and then that's when that volume ends. I don’t know what happens next though, I haven’t gotten the next book. It’s at Ninjago city and I haven’t been there in a while, you know?” Lloyd said, his head down, pouting.  

“If we go there on our travels, we can go and stop at that comic store you told me about, and you can get it.” Morro said, he saw Lloyd’s eyes light up, “Only if you continue to work hard, do you understand?” Lloyd’s expression didn’t change, Morro could tell he only selectively hear one part of what he said. 

What was he even saying? He didn’t care. Why should he? This was a mission of being the Green Ninja, not to be some kid’s parent. 

Suddenly, there were arms around Morro’s waist. Lloyd was hugging him, and not letting go. Only then did Morro realize how short Lloyd was compared to him. He felt stupid, he should’ve realized before.

 Morro reluctantly ruffled Lloyd’s hair, “Now now, that’s enough.” He told him, making Lloyd let go of Morro, he saw a grin bigger than Morro has ever seen on his face before. Morro was confused then.

All he talked about was getting him some stupid comic, why is his student so happy about it?

Morro sighed, “Don’t think I’m getting soft on you just because I offered something nice.” Lloyd nodded, Morro could tell Lloyd didn’t believe him. 

The two continued on their journey. It was silent. But, it was more of comfortable silence. 

Morro wished it could stay like this forever. 

They stopped after an hour or so. Morro could still feel the water nearby. Though, it could just be that nostalgic feeling of his old home. They stopped under the shade of a short cliff to hide from the sun.

Morro took some sandwiches from before, if you could even call them that. It barely looked edible. Morro took a bite. It was the same sandwiches from Stiix, that’s why they looked deformed. Morro knew they were edible, but they sure weren’t tasty. Although, he didn’t care very much. 

Morro looked at Lloyd. He could tell Lloyd sure didn’t want to try it. It looked like Lloyd was trying to prevent himself from gaging. Morro sighed. Lloyd saw he was looking at him, and he nervously laughed. 

“Master, are you sure this is okay to eat?” Lloyd asked, staring at his supposed sandwich, “As I said before, it’s edible. Unless you want to go out and hunt your own food, then I suggest eating it. Unless you want to starve.” He rolled his eyes. His student can be so dramatic sometimes. 

Morro ate his half no problem. Lloyd decided to try to eat it, but he had only gotten 3 or 4 bits in before he just gave it to his master. Morro didn’t care, it was Lloyd’s decision, not his. 

Lloyd was much more comfortable with Morro than he first was. In Lloyd’s mind, they’ve become good friends with one another. Lloyd stroked the hem of his new hat. He could tell that hat has gone through some adventures. 

Lloyd must be very special to Morro if he just gave it to him, right? Yeah! He was special. The only one.  He smiled so brightly. 

“Ninjago City is on our path on going to Jamanaki Village.” Morro stated. Morro didn’t elaborate further, but Lloyd knew what he meant. Lloyd continued to focus on his hat.

Lloyd continued to talk about Starfarer while playing with his hat. It was his favorite thing to talk about after all. He couldn’t help it. It made him happy every time he talked about it. “So, is Stafarer the only comics you read?” Morro asked, trying to start a conversation. He’s never been good at starting them, “Well, I read other ones too, but Starfarer is my favorite!” Lloyd exclaimed excitedly. 

Lloyd smiled, “Like, there's one where there’s these twin witches or something. I haven’t read it all.” Lloyd laughed, almost nervously, “Or this other one about these Vikings who train dragons and they have to go up against the dragon hunters and it’s super cool!” 

“They fight a lot, but they always have a happy ending. You know?” Lloyd told him, Morro raised an eyebrow. He didn’t like where this was going. 

“Y’know, I’ve noticed that the hero like- always gets the happy ending. I’ve seen it in everything I read!” Lloyd said it was true. Every hero got a happy ending. He looked up at his master, but his eyes were dark. Was it something he said? No, he didn’t think he said anything wrong . 

Morro tsked, in almost a scolding way, “Not every hero has a happy ending, Lloyd, Do you know of the sea dwellers?” Morro asked, a dark expression on his face, Lloyd didn’t know why he was asking this, “um, no. I’ve never heard of them.” Lloyd tilted his head to the side. He’s heard a lot of stories, but never about some... sea dwellers. 

“They lived here before the First Spinjitzu Master came here,” Morro said, “What do you mean ‘before the First Spinjitzu Master came here’?” Lloyd asked, tilting his head to the side. 

Morro shook his head, almost in a disappointed way, “That’s a story for another time.” He said, “The sea dwellers lived here before anyone else. They ruled the land, well, in their case, the ocean.” Morro paused before continuing again, Lloyd could tell he was thinking, but he didn’t know what, “Before us, there was no land. Merely ocean. Nothing but ocean.” 

“One day, The First Spinjitzu Master came here and made the mountains, made the trees, and let humans live here. Though, there was one who refused. Refused to let the humans take their oceans.” Morro waved his hands around, trying to add dramatic effect, “Who was the person?” Lloyd asked, “What did he do?” Morro frowned, “If you stop interrupting me, I’ll tell you.” Morro stated harshly, Lloyd stopped asking questions. 

“He had the head of a dragon, as fast as a hummingbird, and his teeth were big and sharp. He used his giant claws to sink the ships.” Morro smiled as he saw Lloyd quiver. “His name was Wojira. ” 

“Wojira controlled the element of both wind and water.” Morro used his wind, showing the element of wind, though, he couldn’t show the element of water. He wasn’t the master of that. “He soon became too much, even for the sea dwellers. One day, a Merlopian Soldier stood up. Her name was Nyad. Nyad was the master of the water. She sacrificed herself for the good of her people.”

“She became one with the ocean, banishing Wojira into a forever sleep. Though, there was no reversing the spell. Nyad was to never be a Merlopian Soldier again.” Morro wisped the wind away, “She became what is called, The Endless Sea.” 

Lloyd frowned, “That’s not fair. Why did she not get a happy ending?” He asked. Morro sighed, “In the real world, Lloyd, there are no happy endings.” He told him, it was the truth. The real world wasn’t some fantasy world where everyone is happy, like Starfarer. Lloyd needed to learn that one way or the other.

“Come on, Lloyd, we have to get a move on if you want to reach Ninjago City this week,” Morro stated, if they had a vehicle of their own, traveling would be much faster, but unfortunately, they don’t. 

Lloyd followed right behind him, he wore his hat. Morro sighed, “Look, Lloyd. If everyone had a happy ending, then there would be no villains.” Morro said Lloyd didn’t respond, he didn’t have to. 

Chapter Text

    A few days have passed since they visited Ronin. Lloyd and Morro have had some complications–let us say. Lloyd felt as though his master was angry at him– like Lloyd had done something irredeemable. Morro was colder than before, and if it weren’t such a bad thing, he would’ve been impressed. 

Morro was cold in the first place, getting him to hate you more than he already does is certainly a feat. 

Lloyd was still thinking about the story his master had told him. He felt like the story was directed at him. Well, it was kinda obvious. But, even then. Lloyd couldn’t help but feel as if he did something wrong.

    He didn’t exactly know what he did wrong, he didn’t even do anything wrong! Lloyd frowned. He just didn’t get it. He looked up at his master, who just had a calm face. He always had a calm face. It was rare for his mask to ever fall. 

    Yet, the times when it falls, it’s usually directed to Lloyd. 

    Lloyd scoffed, rolling his eyes. Morro sighed, “What’s wrong?” He asked, almost annoyed. Lloyd shook his head, crossing his arms. He wasn’t going to give an answer, he didn’t plan to. He was just stubborn like that. 

    He wanted to make his master feel bad. He wanted to yell and shout at him, but he couldn’t . Not because he was intimated by him, but because he just couldn’t. He considered himself a coward because of it. 

    They continued to walk in silence. Lloyd knew that his master wouldn’t ask that question again. He didn’t care. He really didn’t. At least, that’s what he kept on thinking. Lloyd kept his eyes glued onto the ground. 

It was about time for him to get tired of me anyways. Lloyd thought, everyone got tired or annoyed with him eventually. It always happened. He furrowed his eyebrows together. It was never ‘fun’ to have people leave you time and time again.

It just wasn’t fair! Why does everyone else get friends? Is there just something wrong with me or something? He thought, his grip clenching. 

Of course, there is, your very existence is a sin. 

A voice told him, but Lloyd knew it was just his own. It seemed that he completely forgot of the deal that he and his master made, the one about going to get the latest comic of Starfarer. Lloyd was spiraling down. His own thoughts going against him. 

He knew he was digging in his own grave. But he didn’t care . He just wanted to feel sorry for himself, just this once. Just this once he wanted to be selfish. But, he knew he never could be, that’s why they kicked him out, right? He’s just too good .

Yet, no matter what he did. No matter who he made proud of. Nobody cared. Nobody was there for him. Even his mum. 

They say that your mother is the best love you can receive, yet, your own mother didn’t want you. What does that say about you? 

Maybe you’re just unloveable. 

It told him, Lloyd could feel shivers down his spine, but he didn’t care at all. He shook his head. He didn’t care, he didn’t care!

Lloyd didn’t know when he started crying, but, he could taste the salty taste in his mouth. He never liked the taste. Lloyd wiped his tears away, rubbing his eyes during this. Sniffles and hiccups came over him without his control.

You’re only doing this for attention.

Lloyd looked up at his master who just stared at him in response. Lloyd didn’t know what he was thinking, probably something bad about him. That’s just how everyone thinks of you.

Suddenly, there was an arm rubbing his back. Lloyd gasped, it was unexpected after all. But, there wasn’t a single word out of his master. Lloyd rubbed his eyes, they burned, and it hurt. But it was tolerable.

    He tried to silence his hiccups and sniffles, but he couldn’t. It seemed to be impossible. 

His head pounded as his tears continued to fall. 

Morro knelt, wiping away Lloyd’s tears. Lloyd instantly went to his master and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him. He didn’t care that it could’ve been fake, Lloyd just wanted a hug, he just wanted attention. 

He knew it was selfish but he didn’t care.

“Are you going to make me carry you like a baby?” His master asked, though it was gentle, almost a whisper, there wasn’t any malice behind it. It shocked Lloyd, didn’t he hate him? 

Lloyd nodded, he didn’t want to talk. His throat denied it no matter how hard he wanted to try.

Morro sighed, picking up Lloyd. He took off Lloyd’s hat and put it on himself. The hat would only get in the way and become an annoyance. He walked with Lloyd in his arms. And, once again, he was reminded how small Lloyd was. He frowned, noting to feed him more often.

He stroked Lloyd’s hair, easing him through his sob. Morro knew he would need to clean his clothes from the snot. 

In the last few days, they walked, not stopping. The only breaks they took were to eat and sleep. This is why they made it to Ninjago City so quickly, Morro could see it far over if you squinted. He continued to stroke Lloyd’s hair. He could tell that Lloyd was still awake based on the small hiccups and sniffs.

“We’re almost there,” He informed Lloyd, who only nodded, “Go to sleep, Lloyd. I’ll wake you up when we get there.” Morro told him, soothing him. Lloyd hummed, he was close to drifting off to sleep anyways so going to sleep now wasn’t that hard of a challenge. 

It was as if his body had never slept before, Lloyd fell asleep the instant he closed his eyes. 

Once they got there, Morro stayed true to his word. He gently shook Lloyd and Lloyd woke up. Though he was still drowsy, Lloyd made a note of how tall the buildings were. He never really looked at them, he could never stay too long, because the citizens always ran him out. After all, he’s still the son of Lord Garmadon.

He rubbed his eyes, then yawned. 

“I can’t keep carrying you forever, now, get down,” Morro stated calmly, he meant no malice, after all, letting Lloyd get on his feet. Lloyd stretched his arms, humming as he did. He felt much better than before. The dark voice that told him that he wasn’t good enough went away, that’s all Lloyd needed. 

    Morro walked away, Lloyd following right behind him, though slower than usual since he was still half asleep, like a mother with her child. Or a duck with a duckling. Lloyd’s eyes still burned, but it was okay. He smiled. 

    “Here,” Morro gave Lloyd back his straw hat, it wasn’t his after all. Lloyd nodded, putting it on top of his head, “Thanks,” he said with a toothy grin. He felt much better than he did before.

    From the corner of his eye, he saw the comic store. Lloyd tugged Morro’s cloak, “Master, master! Look!” He exclaimed excitedly, pointing at what he was looking at. He was jumping up and down in excitement. Morro rolled his eyes, though, not because it was annoying. (Morro could tell he enjoyed Lloyd being happy, it was nice.)

    Lloyd had a big smile across his face as they neared the shop. When Morro pushed the door open, there was a ding. Like from a bell. Before Morro could look at anything, Lloyd gasped, seeming excited. He ran all over the shop, looking at the numerous comics around. 

    It was like a comic haven. Every nook and cranny was filled with a comic. 

    He picked up some, his eyes big and his body shaking, “Look! Look! Master, it’s Starfarer!” Lloyd exclaimed excitedly, raising the comic above his head as if it was the greatest thing in the world. His master just sighed, “Come on, you can’t just swipe it as you do with the other things you have.” He told him, crossing his arms. 

    Lloyd usually steals the things he wants, but, they were in an area where they could easily be seen. Morro isn’t stupid. 

    Lloyd puffed his cheeks in a fit as they went closer to the counter. Lloyd put the comic on the counter while Morro grabbed out money. Suddenly, there was an exclamation from behind the counter, “Welcome back Lloyd!” A man said, he had short hair and a beard. Morro guessed he was a worker or owner of this store. 

    “Hey, Rufus!” Lloyd greeted in return, a grin on his face.

Morro looked at him, you could tell that he was a man that rarely went out. “Lloyd, do you know him?” Morro asked, looking down at him, “Yeah! He’s the owner of this store!” I knew it . Morro thought, glaring down at the man. Rufus was shorter than Morro after all.

 The man in front of him hummed, “Ninjago’s Doomsday Comix!” He said, gesturing his hands at the sign outside, “Ninjago’s favorite comic store!”

    Morro internally scoffed, he felt as though this entire store was stupid. It was worthless in his eyes. Utterly pointless.

    But, the man kept talking and talking about their damned comics . God , was it annoying. There was no point in this conversation, just a waste of time, Morro hated wasting time. 

    Morro put the money down, “we didn’t come here for some chit-chat.” Morro glared at the man, they just didn’t have the time to waste on some useless conversation. 

Lloyd stuck his tongue out at Morro, though, he really didn’t care. “Oh, um, alright!” The man said, Morro knew he was nervous, he scanned the comic, then Morro paid for it. He could tell that ‘Rufus’ was imitated by him, Morro knew he had that effect on people. 

    It didn’t take long before they left. It wasn’t meant to take long anyways, just a quick in-and-out. They have a long way to go before they reach Jamanakai Village. Morro knew this, he wouldn’t allow himself to get distracted by more of the glamorous parts of the city. 

    He looked down at Lloyd, who had his nose stuck in the comic Morro just bought for him. Morro knew that Lloyd didn’t like the city, he had told him himself. Although it didn’t seem to matter much seeing as Lloyd was like on autopilot, he continued to walk without a single concern if he bumped into someone or something. 

    Morro was glad though, he could tell Lloyd was feeling much better than he was earlier. Although, he wondered how exactly it happened. From what Morro remembers, he wasn’t angry with him. Although, it could’ve seemed as though he was. Morro understood his mistake then. 

    It was a misunderstanding of sorts, Morro hoped it wouldn’t happen again. 

Chapter Text

Morro could see the sun starting to set. They had just gotten out of the city, thankfully, there weren’t any complications whilst they traveled their way out of that maze people call home. Though, he was used to it. He used to live in Stiix after all, that place was its own maze of sorts.

He sighed, Lloyd was right by his side, following every step he took. He always followed right behind him. Though it was to be expected, Morro is Lloyd’s master after all. Although, he didn’t expect his student to be this clingy. 

Morro made sure to take out Lloyd’s contacts. He didn’t want to wear them out after having them for such a short time. He kept them in his pockets. 

Though it isn’t Morro’s responsibility to carry them, he couldn’t just hand them to Lloyd without expecting them to be misplaced. Lloyd has a talent of losing things, Morro has lost the amount of times he’s lost his wooden sword. Though, it would turn up just days later, Lloyd would call it magic. Morro knew better, Lloyd was just really good at losing things.

Morro continued to eye the sun like a hawk, he knew they would have to make camp soon. He knew that Lloyd knew this too, seeing that he looked a the sky with Morro, though that could be just Lloyd looking up at the sky just to look at it. 

They made their stop around a tree, it wasn’t much, but it would give them shelter if it rained. Morro and Lloyd set up a camping tent under it where most of the leaves were. 

In the meantime, Lloyd trained, his wooden sword in hand, Morro sat against the tree bark, staring at the sky. Lloyd trained with a wooden sword. He kept the one that he was first given, though, it was more battered up than before, seeing the multiple cracks and splitters around it, Morro knew he would have to get him a new one because if Lloyd were to use it during sparring one more time, it would break in half.  Maybe it was time to get him a ‘professional’ weapon. Morro would have to think it over.

Lloyd grinned to himself, swinging his sword side to side. Morro gently smiled. He really didn’t understand what was happening to him. He never cared for everyone. Everyone hated him, and he hated everyone, with the exception of Ronin, but Ronin was more of a business partner rather than a friend. This feeling for Lloyd was different. 

Though Morro couldn’t find the cause no matter how hard he thought. 

Though, after about 30 minutes, he could tell Lloyd had gotten bored of training, seeing he was only playing with the sword, acting like the main character of Starfarer . He exaggerated his swings and used dialogue from the book. 

Morro just shook his head, though, a smile still on his face. Though, Lloyd quickly got bored of that too. He went up to Morro, Morro guessed Lloyd wanted him to cure his boredom.

“What ya doing master?” Lloyd asked, plopping down right beside Morro, “I’m not doing anything, just, staring into the sky.” He responded, not caring much. Lloyd shrugged, “But why? Isn’t that like.. super boring?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowed together.

Morro sighed, Children . He thought, “Sometimes, the boring moments are the calmest ones.” He said, though, Lloyd just blew a raspberry, “That’s dumb! ” He said, crossing his arms.

Morro didn’t care what Lloyd thought of it, it wasn’t much of his business. Well, it was , Morro just didn’t care enough to do anything about it. 

Then there was silence.

Suddenly, there was an agitated hum from his student, “Ugh! I’m so bored!” He said, huffing. Morro shook his head once more, an idea popped into his head, “Come here, Lloyd.” He said, patting his side.

It seemed that Lloyd knew what his master was asking, seeing that he plopped his head into his master’s thigh. Morro stroked Lloyd’s hair, combing out the seemingly endless tangles. This was Morro’s version of curing boredom then Lloyd didn’t want it! Lloyd wanted to talk, or at least, listen to someone singing . 

Lloyd has heard some people do some songs that were sung by people on the streets, usually, they were for money. But, Lloyd enjoyed them anyways. 

“Hey master, can you sing me a song?” Lloyd asked, Morro rolled his eyes, “I don’t sing.” He said firmly. It was true, he doesn’t sing. He enjoys listening to music, sure, but that doesn’t mean he enjoys singing.

“Um, can you maybe, hum me a song?” Lloyd asked. Morro could basically feel the nervousness in Lloyd’s voice, that was the only reason why he agreed. (Morro thought what felt like the thousandth time, when did he get so damn soft?)

He hummed a song he was taught long, long ago. He used the wind to help with the background noises, making the song sound better in general. If he was going to hum a song, you know it’s gonna be a good damn song.

Although, it wasn’t his song.

He remembered when he was first sung this. It was his former master. He remembered his gentle eyes and his soft smile. Sensei Wu always praised him, no matter how bad of a job he did, no matter how badly he messed up. Morro still longs for that, he would even dream of his master coming to him, hugging him tightly. He dreamed that he himself would apologize to his master over a thousand times for leaving. He never wanted to leave. He just wanted to be good enough, to be special.  

Morro looked down at Lloyd, who seemed to enjoy his humming. Morro moved his hand, which was stroking his hair, down to Lloyd’s cheeks and pinched them. It made Lloyd giggle. Morro huffed.

Morro looked out to the sunset. Though, he didn’t care for the golden clouds or the bright sun that seemed so beautiful as it set. All he wanted was to stay in that place just for a little longer before they had to go into their tents, for reasons he doesn’t want to reveal. He could tell Lloyd wanted this too. 

It was one of the only calm moments, that was rare nowadays. 

His tune was a calm one, not too exciting, but not too sorrowful. Morro closed his eyes, feeling the wind in his hair. He took the hair tie out, letting his long hair flow in the wind. His hair wasn’t too long, but it wasn’t as short as it was when he was younger.

Morro always enjoyed the feel of the wind, although, he could never tell if it was because of the fact that he was the master of wind, or because he truly enjoyed the small whispers and whistles that it created. 

Morro looked down at Lloyd once more, Lloyd had his eyes closed and his breathing steady. He seemed younger, yet, people always seemed younger when they were asleep. 

Morro sighed, he quietly picked up Lloyd, one arm under his leg and one arm under his back. Although, Morro didn’t stop his humming, merely looping it over and over. It was a song you could never grow tired of. At least, Morro could never grow tired of it.

Morro quietly unzipped the entrance of the tent. He slowly put down Lloyd on one of the camping beds. Then, he sighed once more. Morro didn’t remember the last time he felt like this, felt like he was at complete peace, felt as though nothing dangerous would happen.

He felt safe .

Morro lay on his own bed, it was hard and cold, but he didn’t care. It has been a long day, it felt more like a week rather than 24 hours. 

Morro fell asleep almost immediately, it was weird. He never fell asleep so fast, at least, when he was by himself. When he was with his master, he could always fall asleep so swiftly, it only changed when he started to travel by himself. 

__
    Lloyd woke up with a stretch. He yawned, slowly waking himself up. Lloyd rubbed his eyes. It was cold, he encased himself with a blanket that he used for sleeping. He shivered, rubbing his hands together. 

His straw hat was by his side, it never left his side.

    He looked over to his master, who was still asleep. Huh, he thought. His master always woke up before he did. Lloyd knew then that he was awake way too early. But, it isn’t easy to fall back asleep, especially when it’s basically freezing. 

    Maybe Lloyd was over-exaggerating, sure, but it didn’t eliminate the fact that he was cold. Lloyd crawled over to Morro, he thought that maybe he could warm himself up with body warmth.

    Lloyd laid on Morro’s arm, hoping not to wake him up. He moved closer, sure, he could wake up Morro, but all that Lloyd cared about was warmth . Lloyd hummed, but then there was a groan. His heartbeat increased in a panic. Lloyd dared not to move, fearing that he would be in trouble.

“Lloyd?” A gravelly voice said, “Why are you awake at this time?” Lloyd knew it was Morro, I mean, who else would’ve said that right?, “Uhm, I was cold?” He was surprised at how little his voice sounded, he didn’t expect himself to sound bold and confident, he just wasn’t expecting that .

    Morro hummed, “It isn’t that cold.” He said, turning onto his side, basically caging Lloyd in his arms, although, Lloyd knew not to be scared, he looked up at him. Morro’s eyes were still closed, but his nose was scrunched up. Lloyd resisted the urge to laugh. 

    Lloyd wanted to move around, but he wasn’t able to, his master was much stronger than him by a long shot, so of course he wouldn’t be able to move! Lloyd sighed in defeat. 

    Morro patted his head almost in a rough manner, “Shh, go back to sleep.” He groaned, Lloyd knew for sure he woke up too early if his master was telling him to go back to sleep. Lloyd nodded, closing his eyes. 

    He could hear the cicadas and the leaves ruffling because of the wind. It was annoying, he never liked it when he tried to sleep. 

    Though he knew he wouldn’t fall asleep instantly, Lloyd internally groaned. It was going to be a long night. (Or morning.)

    __

    When a reasonable time to get up came around, Morro woke awake as ever. He vaguely remembered what happened during the night. He knew that Lloyd woke him up at an ungodly hour. Morro also knew that Lloyd was still in his arms, he could feel his weight against him. 

    Morro stroked his own hair, he could tell it was tangled. 

    He looked down at him, he was dead asleep. Morro looked at his ribcage hoodie, he kept on forgetting to get Lloyd better clothing, his hoodie was already worn out as much as it was. Of course, he washed it, he just needed to get Lloyd better clothing.

    He sat up, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up. He yawned. Morro knew he would need to get up soon. Morro started to comb out his hair with his fingers, trying to get the tangles out of his hair. 

He gently shook Lloyd, “Lloyd, it’s time to wake up.” He said, and before Lloyd even opened his eyes, Morro got up, letting Lloyd fall onto the bed. That was what woke him up, “Huh?” Lloyd asked, dumbfounded, sitting up. Morro resisted a chuckle. 

    Morro didn’t answer Lloyd’s confusion, instead, he just went outside. Morro was soon awake and he started to pace around. Lloyd came outside after some time. Together, they packed up the camp as well as their things. Though Morro could tell that Lloyd was still half-asleep whilst doing this, seeing that Lloyd was much more clumsy than before, though he didn’t expect any less. 

    Lloyd stretched, his arms reaching high, then he let them down with a quiet sigh, Morro didn’t pay much attention. “Hey, master?” Lloyd called out, “Can you put in my contacts now? Or- well, can you give them to me, and then I can put them in.” He asked, a nervous smile on his face. 

Morro looked at him but refused his request.

    “Later, right now, we walk,” Morro told him, putting his hair in the usual low ponytail, already walking away. Lloyd sighed, he anticipated this answer anyways. He followed behind his master. 

Lloyd put on his straw hat, “Master, why did you give me this hat anyways?” He asked, and Morro looked at him funny, “I told you before, it’s a reward, nothing more, nothing less.” He said, “Are you sure? Not for any other reasons?” Lloyd asked, he had this strange feeling that his master was lying, “Yes, now, stop doubting me. Don’t forget your place.” He snapped harshly, making Lloyd shut up.

Though Lloyd knew his master didn’t mean it, he couldn’t help but feel hurt. Though they were close, Lloyd just guessed they weren’t close enough. He wasn’t good enough . He shook his head, it wasn’t time to think of these thoughts. 

    After an hour of walking, Lloyd felt more awake. Well, of course he felt more awake! He’s been walking for an hour after all! His legs were sore, but, his legs are always sore ever since he started traveling with Morro.

    Yet, his master never seemed to care, Lloyd knew he was all too used to the road to get tired so easily. He internally groaned, and though he didn’t blame his master, it was still annoying from time to time. But, Lloyd couldn’t say anything. He crossed his arms. 

    Suddenly, the stench of the sea combined with fish appeared. It was terrible , Lloyd almost gagged at the scent. He looked at his master, for some reason, had his katana unsheathed, but it wasn’t aimed at Lloyd, it seemed to aim at something behind him.

    “Well well well,” A familiar voice from behind him said, “Look at who we have here .” Lloyd immediately jumped back, recognizing the voice, of course he would. 

It was the voice of the demon they met long ago. The voice who wore the human disguise in that “human” village after they made it out of that hellish forest.

    Lloyd looked at the man, but, he was not in his human disguise as he was before. The demon had the legs of an octopus, and purple skin and his eyes were different colors, a mix of yellows, reds, and greens. Morro took a step forward, he knew that his master recognized the demon as well, though, he only recognized his voice, “And, who are you ?” He asked, the malice clear in his throat. 

    The octopus creature took in, what Lloyd would call, a step forward. 

    “I am Kalmaar, Prince of the Sea.” 

Chapter Text

    Prince Kalmaar held his spear up, waiting to attack. Prince Kalmaar stared at the other, his face twisted in such a way. It seemed that he was waiting on who would strike first, him or Morro. The tension was high, this was something Morro didn’t plan on happening at all. Although nothing truly goes according to plan, now does it?

    Morro analyzed the situation though he kept an eye focused on the man who revealed himself as a Merlopian. Morro knew there was no escaping this battle, and no matter how much he thought of a solution, the only solution he thought of was to fight. Fighting was never pretty. 

    Compared to sparring, an actual battle with a strong opponent was hell. There weren’t any rules, no breaks. One wrong move can cause your death. 

Morro grabbed Lloyd and shoved him behind himself. Morro could fight this buffoon without any trouble, but, with Lloyd with him, it would be more troublesome. He held up one arm to cover Lloyd, holding him in a protective stance. 

    He could manage, it would be hard, but he can keep Lloyd safe. 

    “Prince Kalmaar,” Morro started, biting back a snarl. Though the title of prince usually came from respect, Morro took it with low regard. He didn’t care for titles, they were just a facade. Power is something that Morro respects.

“What do you want?” Morro asked, there was no reason for one of the sea dwellers to be above the sea, roaming on land. After all, there has been peace for years. But that’s just the thing, nothing good lasts forever.

Prince Kalmaar only laughed , “What do I want?” He said, holding his head as he laughed. Morro clenched his fists, “What I want is for you to get off of my land!” Prince Kalmaar said, clearing his laughter and it being replaced with obvious malice.

    Yet, Morro only scoffed, “Off of your land? Huh, I don’t seem to see your name anywhere near here!” His mask of usual calmness fell and raw emotions made an appearance. Morro could tell that his anger was most likely getting the better of him but he didn’t care. Off of his land? That was the most idiotic thing Morro has ever heard! 

    Lloyd stayed behind Morro, watching the events unfold right before his eyes.

Thump, thump.

Lloyd could hear his own heartbeat racing. He wondered if Morro could hear it too. Lloyd bit his bottom lip, almost in anticipation. To say that he was nervous was an understatement. He didn’t know when he started to tremble, he only noticed when he looked down at his hand. 

    He was such a mess. 

    “My people owned these lands before you humans ever got here!” Prince Kalmaar waved around his spear in a fit. Morro thought it seemed much too similar to a tantrum that a child would have. He almost felt embarrassed for Prince Kalmaar. After all, it was embarrassing to throw a fit at his age.

 “I thought you knew this, Lloyd is barely human,” Morro replied, a smug smirk on his face, gesturing to the little boy behind him. He saw Prince Kalmaar pause, “He’s part human, that’s good enough for me!” Prince Kalmaar stammered out, almost as if he had forgotten that fact. And with that, Prince Kalmaar swung his spear, aiming for Morro and Lloyd. 

    Morro jumped back, still protecting Lloyd, “Lloyd,” He whispered, “Stay out of sight, I’ll distract him long enough for you to hide.” Morro said, not bothering to look Lloyd in the eyes, “I can fight!” Lloyd tried to protest, but Morro quickly shut down the idea, “No, you can’t. I have a feeling that Prince Kalmaar doesn’t play ‘fair’.” Nobody does , “Plus, you still haven’t successfully done spinjitzu, don’t forget that.” Morro replied, not showing any emotion in his voice. Though, Lloyd couldn’t help but feel hurt.

    It was true, Lloyd has been trying to do spinjitzu since the first day his master presented him with it. But, no matter how hard he tried, nothing worked.

    Lloyd wished he could do more, wished he could be stronger. But, he wasn’t. He wasn’t strong enough, not good enough. You’re never good enough.

    Morro pushed Lloyd behind him, engaging in the challenge. He held his katana in front of him. He started to walk to the side, as did Prince Kalmaar, basically circling each other. Morro glared at the Merlopian, he didn’t care if he was a prince or not, Morro intended to harm in a way he was never harmed before. 

    Everyone knows Morro hates wasting time, and this was a waste of time. “Now, aren’t you going to strick me?” Prince Kalmaar said, a deceitful smirk on his face. God, was he ugly. Morro thought, his eyebrows furrowed together in, what seemed to be, frustration. 

    Lloyd on the other hand had run behind a nearby rock formation, though, he was far enough that he shouldn’t be able to get hurt. He hated this, he wanted to fight , not just to be some specter in a fight he should be in. 

    But, it seemed as though Prince Kalmaar was more focused on his master rather than Lloyd. He just clenched his fists, it just wasn’t fair! He knew that he shouldn’t be jealous, especially for something like this, but he couldn’t help but be envious. His master was so strong and he was so weak.

    Lloyd continued to watch the two circle each other, insulting the other. 

    “What? No answer? I expected no less from you humans! ” Prince Kalmaar spat out, Morro could tell that Prince Kalmaar was trying to get a rise out of Morro, but he knew better than to let him win, “You know nothing of who I am.” Morro said coldly, staring him down. 

    “I don’t need to know anything about you, you are just trash beneath my feet!” Prince Kalmaar exclaimed, clenching the spear he was holding. Morro could tell that Prince Kalmaar was getting antsy, “Are you saying that to make yourself feel better, or do you genuinely believe that?” Morro asked, “If you asked me, you just sound like a coward who is all about talk.” 

    Prince Kalmaar was the first to strike.

    Prince Kalmaar took a step forward and lunch himself at Morro, swinging his spear, attempting to slash Morro. But, Morro dodged right in time, jumping back and landing on his feet. You could practically hear the wind as it helped Morro dodge. 

    The same thing happened over and over before Prince Kalmaar got fed up with Morro’s nonsense, “Enough! Fight me, like a true warrior!” He exclaimed, Morro smirked, “Why didn’t you say that in the first place?” He asked, he knew what he was doing. He knew that he was just getting a rise out of Prince Kalmaar, but he didn’t care. In fact, he enjoyed it. 

Morro wasn’t going to stay dodging forever , but, he enjoyed taunting Merlopian. He loved his opponent's expressions as they get more feisty and desperate to just land one hit. Prince Kalmaar jumped up and swung again, almost in a graceful manner. Yet, Morro just dodged. 

Morro was practically making a fool out of Prince Kalmaar, Morro couldn’t help but take some pride in his actions. 

    Prince Kalmaar gritted his teeth before raising his spear once more and aiming it right at Morro, “This ends now.” He said, almost in a dramatic manner. Morro laughed, Prince Kalmaar tried so hard to seem intimate, but it failed tremendously. 

    Prince Kalmaar growled, “You dare make fun of me?!” He exclaimed, Morro smirked, “Who said I was making fun of you? That doesn’t sound like me.” He said, “You just!” Prince Kalmaar exclaimed, Morro shrugged, acting as though he hasn’t done anything wrong.  

    Morro took a stance, then swung his sword, at the same time as Prince Kalmaar swung his, making them clash together with a ding. Morro had a crazed smile on his face, he hadn’t fought so long, and his body almost ached for it.

    They jumped back, almost in unison before clashing once more. Morro used his wind to make Prince Kalmaar falter, just for a moment. Morro slashed his katana downward where Prince Kalmaar was, but he dodged, though he now had a small cut on one of his tentacles. Blue-colored blood dripped down, “Who would’ve known you bleed blue ?” Morro smirked, and Prince Kalmaar grunted in annoyance.

    Prince Kalmaar jumped in front of Morro and swung his spear without saying a single word, Morro dodged by ducking down, though, that’s when a punch against his stomach launched him backward. Morro landed on his feet, he wasn’t so easily defeated. 

    It’s been so long, the thrill, and the adrenaline was so nice to have back again.

    “You truly are a crazed maniac! ” Prince Kalmaar said, trying to get Morro to snap. But, Morro already knew this. It was the only thing his former master couldn’t teach out of him.

    Morro ran forward, slicing his sword in the air, once more wounding the Merlopian, this time on the arm. This was a much deeper cut, but, not as deep as Morro wanted, he frowned. The Merlopian tsked, then tried to lead with a right hook, but was blocked by Morro grabbed his fist. 

    “Do you honestly think that would’ve worked the second time?” Morro asked, raising his katana with his other hand, about to strike the prince down.

    Prince Kalmaar jumped back, escaping Morro’s grasp. Though there was a ring around where Morro had grasped, he knew that he cut off his blood circulation. Morro waved his hand upwards, suddenly, there was a gust of air pushing Prince Kalmaar backward. Prince Kalmaar closed his eyes for a second, to get the wind out of his eyes. Morro jumped behind him, raising his katana once more, about to strike the man down. 

    Prince Kalmaar opened his eyes to find no one in front of him, then saw the katana from the corner of his eye. He instantly jumped forward, right as Morro swung his sword. 

    Lloyd was biting his fingernails, he completely forgot that this was reality . Like when you get so sucked into a movie you forget that you exist. At that point, his head poked from the rock formation. 

    Though, it seemed as though nobody noticed.

    Morro tsked, “If you stayed still, we might end this fight.” He scowled, frowning. It seemed as though he underestimated Prince Kalmaar’s abilities. Prince Kalmaar only laughed, “I should be saying that to you!” He yelled before jumping back to battle. 

    Lloyd watched them clash weapons over and over. He saw moves that he’s never been taught before. If it weren’t for the fact that his master’s life was at stake, Lloyd would’ve found this pretty entertaining. 

    More and more wounds were inflicted on each other. Stab after stab, clash after clash…

    Morro cut up Prince Kalmaar, as did Prince Kalmaar hurt Morro. Yet, it always seemed that Morro had the upper hand. 

Suddenly, Prince Kalmaar found an opening, and he stabbed right where Morro’s stomach was, Morro tried to dodge, but he was too late. Morro held his stomach as it bleed red. He didn’t dodge in time, which resulted in a stab in his stomach. He blamed himself, rookie mistake, as he called it. 

 Though Morro could tell that there were going to be bruised, he was more concerned that he was bleeding. He never forgot what blood looked like, never. He never forgot how blood flowed when you slash the skin off. 

Morro knelt, and he started to devise a plan. He would act hurt enough so that Prince Kalmaar would try to strike, and that’s when Morro would strike him . He just hoped he would be fast enough, he knew he could still walk. Morro isn’t that weak. It was just the fact that his wounds slowed him, he frowned, trying to think. 

Prince Kalmaar stood in front of Morro, “You humans are so weak.” He said, taking a deep exhale afterward. There was some sweetness in it, Morro knew that he was going to enjoy ‘killing’ him.

That’s when Lloyd truly panicked, he instantly jumped out of where he was hiding and ran in front of Morro. To say that Morro was shocked was an understatement, “Lloyd, what are you doing?!” He whispered in a harsh tone. 

Lloyd raised his arms, seeming like a shield. He didn’t answer his master, “Now, aren’t you brave?” Prince Kalmaar said, panting out his words. But, he held a smirk, Morro knew then Prince Kalmaar wasn’t scared of striking a child down. 

“Lloyd, get away from here! Now!” Morro exclaimed, yet, Lloyd didn’t move a muscle. Lloyd knew that this was a bad idea, sure, he didn’t think this through very well, but, he didn’t care. 

Lloyd closed his eyes shut, he was scared. His breath quivered. He just tried not to think about it, tried not to think about the fact that he might not see another sunset, tried not to think of how big of a disappointment he was.

“Very well then, goodbye.” He heard the octopus man say. Lloyd clenched his teeth. Then there was a scream, it didn’t sound like it belonged to him. 

The next thing Lloyd knew was that he was on the grass, he couldn’t breathe and he was panicking. Though, he didn’t know why. Someone was screaming, but he didn’t know who. Minutes felt like hours, or did the hours feel like minutes?

Lloyd could see two silhouettes attack each other. Lloyd looked away. He didn’t know what was happening.

“Lloyd!” Someone called out his name, he saw a combination of blue and red on the grass, it was pretty. Like a painting you would see in a museum. He was being shaken, “You idiot! ” Someone exclaimed, they seemed desperate. 

Lloyd looked up, seeing the familiar streak of green in the person’s hair, “Master?” He called out, but it didn’t sound like his voice, it sounded like someone else. “Shut up.” Morro hushed him, but Lloyd didn’t see any problem in talking, but he stayed quiet anyway.

His master seemed shocked and angry. Was he angry at him? He was usually mad at him. 

Suddenly, Lloyd wasn’t on the ground anymore, he was being carried. At least, he thinks so, “You will live, I will make sure of it.” His master told him, seeming determined, Lloyd tried to hum in response but nothing came out.

He closed his eyes, falling asleep. 

Chapter Text

A loud whistle rang through Morro’s ears. He covered his ears out of instinct, but he wasn’t angry or annoyed. In fact, Morro grinned. The whistle he heard was the same whistle from the tea kettle his sensei would use. That’s how he knew that his sensei’s tea was done. He quickly made his way to the kitchen of the monastery, he’s never been good at cooking, but his master was like a god at it. 

    Morro remembered the many times when he would almost burn the entire monastery when he tried to cook. Since then, his sensei revoked his privileges of even touching the teapot has been the one who cooks. Morro knew it better like that, and for what it’s worth, he never complained. The food he made was delicious. 

    Morro took a big sniff of the air, the aroma guiding his feet as he drew closer to the kitchen. Though, that could just be the wind filling the room again. The wind was always present, it was lovely. It made Morro feel closer to his element. His sensei was always happy when he felt the wind, and when his sensei was happy, Morro was happy. 

    He jumped along and swung the door open. Morro saw his sensei by the counter and fire, Morro hopped right beside his sensei who held his tea kettle, pouring his tea into a teacup, “Hello, Morro.” A gentle voice greeted him, a smile on his face. Morro smiled back, expressing his joy. Morro could tell today was going to be one of those good days. 

    At least he hoped so.

Sometimes when he woke, he couldn’t tell if today was going to be a good day or a bad day. He always hoped for a good day. Sometimes, it was in the between, which was fine sometimes. Morro usually had those, he didn’t mind it, but he always enjoyed having good days. It was nice to have a good day.

But beggars can’t be choosers. 

Morro jumped up to see what his sensei was doing, “What are you making, sensei?” He asked with foolish excitement on his face. He was always foolish, “Your favorite,” His sensei replied, too focused on cooking to look at Morro, but Morro took no offense towards it, “tonkatsu.” His master finished, humming at the end. 

    Though Morro knew that he was cooking his favorite food, he acted surprised anyways. He knew it would please his master, the only thing Morro wanted to do was please him. Morro chuckled happily, “Thank you, sensei!” Sensei Wu hummed, then patted Morro’s hair. “Any time, my dear student.” He said. Morro watched as his master cooked the tonkatsu. 

    Sparks of fire went in the air, Morro flinched back on instinct.

    “Don’t get too close, Morro, I don’t want you to get burned.” His sensei warned in his usual kind voice. Morro pouted, he didn’t care if he got burned, didn’t care for the warnings. But, he was pushed further away by his master despite not wanting to be. 

    Morro stuck his tongue out at his sensei, his sensei only sighed, “You need to take more care of yourself, my child.” He tried to persuade, “I fear that one day you’ll get yourself killed if you stay this reckless.”

    Morro only shook his head, “Don’t worry sensei, I can take care of myself!” That was a blatant lie. He always overworked himself, most of the time passing out whilst he trained. He always neglected to sleep, saying he has better things to do than just being ‘lazy’, as he calls it. 

    Sensei Wu looked at him with a worried expression, it annoyed Morro. Did he think that he wasn’t strong enough to take care of himself? That he was weak ? Morro looked away from his master, letting himself be drowned with his own pointless thoughts.

    Everyone just thought he was weak. He hated it. He was the opposite of weak! It wasn’t fair! It was so damn annoying, when will people learn that he was strong? When will they learn he isn’t the same helpless kid on the streets that begged for help?

“Morro, please understand, I am only trying to help you.” His sensei told him, his usual calm voice laced with worry. That was the turning point for Morro, “I DON’T NEED HELP!” Morro snapped, instantly turning back to his sensei. Morro’s anger faded when he saw both shock and sadness on his sensei’s face. 

There was silence. 

Too much silence. Morro hated this type of silence. 

His sensei frowned, his eyebrows furrowed together in worry, Morro tightly shut his eyes, he didn’t want to see his master's expression. He didn’t mean to scream at his sensei, he just… he isn’t weak. But in showing his master that he wasn’t weak, did he just screw himself over? “I don’t… I don’t need any help. I can take care of myself, I’m not weak.” Morro said, cautiously opening his eyes, but cowardly looking at the floor anyways.

An image appeared in his head, it was him. Back when times were tough, back before he meet Sensei Wu. He was lonely. No family. No nothing. Just another being floating around with no purpose. A waste of space .

Morro shook his head, he wouldn’t return to that! He isn’t weak, he will never be weak!

    But was he trying to convince himself or his master?

    “Oh, dear.” Sensei Wu paused, how could Morro think such thoughts? If anything, Morro was too strong for his age. He deserved to be a child, why could Morro understand such things? “My child, I never said that were weak.” Morro looked up at him, his eyes big with regret. Sensei Wu could even see some tears welling up, which concerned him the most. Morro was never the type to cry. Sensei Wu spoke again, “Even the strongest of people need help.” He told him, his eyebrows pulled together, Morro could tell Sensei Wu was concerned for him.

Morro shook his head, roughly rubbing the tears out of his eyes, “That's stupid.” He mumbled to himself angrily. The green ninja doesn’t need help, so why does he? His dad’s logic was always so confusing, “It may be, but it is the truth,” Sensei Wu said softly, as if he was trying to comfort his student, or calm him down. 

    Morro continued to watch Sensei Wu cook but at a safer distance. He watched how the food grew into a darker shade of color, he could tell it was almost ready. Yet, his sensei sighed. “Morro, go ahead and sit at the table,” He told him, “It’s almost ready.” Morro nodded, obeying his sensei’s command. 

    After Sensei Wu finished his cooking, he set the food down on the table as he said he would, “Morro, the food is ready,” he told him, a gentle smile on his face. Morro nodded, already imagining how the food tastes. Morro immediately sat down nearby his master.

    He instantly ‘dug in’, as people call it. Morro couldn’t tell that he was dirting himself, he just enjoyed his master’s cooking that much. 

    His sensei tried and failed to suppress a chuckle, but it didn’t seem to be out of malice, but Morro still took offense from it, “Hey!” He exclaimed, tilting his head to the side, but his master ruffled his hair instead, chuckling to himself. Morro glared at him knowing he couldn’t do anything but intensely stare at his sensei. He crossed his arms, almost in annoyance. 

His master noticed this instantly, Sensei Wu sighed in defeat, “Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” his master said, Morro looked at him doubtfully, he knew that he was lying. Though Sensei Wu almost never lied, usual little white lies were around. 

    “I will! I promise,” Sensei Wu swore, putting a hand on his chest and the other behind his back, Morro sighed, still having his doubts, but he knew that this would go on forever if he continued to doubt him. “Okay, sensei.” He trusted his father.

He turned back to his food when his master started to ruffle his hair again , “Sensei!” He scolded, his sensei stopped ruffling his hair then. His sensei scratched the back of his hair, sheepishly, “I lied, I’m sorry,” But Morro knew he wasn’t sorry, he rolled his eyes at his sensei. 

    The wind whistled in annoyance. Though Morro never noticed, Sensei Wu always noticed. The wind seemed to copy Morro’s emotions, sometimes it was good, sometimes it was bad. It helped to read Morro’s emotions, but, it didn’t help when he was angry or annoyed. The wind would sway strongly, almost completely decimating the entire monastery. It usually happened during training when Morro his sparring with the others, which also didn’t help. 

Though Morro can usually calm himself down, Sensei Wu made sure to always have an eye on him, just in case. 

They ate in silence. But, comfortable silence. Morro liked comfortable silence. It meant he could listen. But, Sensei Wu broke the silence to Morro’s dismay. 

“Tell me, Morro, how has your training been?” His sensei asked Morro, who just ate another piece of tonkatsu, “Perfect, master!” He said, almost immediately. “I’m becoming stronger and stronger !” He exclaimed excitedly, showing off his muscles as he did. Morro always seemed excited to talk about his training, it was a subject he could talk for hours about.

His sensei nodded, “Very good, Morro, I can already tell you would be the Green Ninja ” His sensei praised, and Morro hummed excitedly. The Green Ninja. The prophecy destiny foretold that someone would rise above the rest and defeat the Overlord. 

Morro would be the best ninja the world had ever seen. 

“Master, when we finish, can I go train?” Morro asked, but Sensei Wu knew that he was going to no matter what he said, “Only if you don’t overwork yourself, as you’ve done all the other times.” Master Wu told him, laying out the conditions, Morro scoffed. 

“But, how will I be ready to fight the overlord if I don't train hard enough?” Morro asked, stabbing his food and plopping it in his mouth. He never liked talking about how much he overworks, not because he cared , but because it was annoying when his sensei gave him the same speech over and over .

“Morro, if you don’t take any breaks,” oh there he goes again! Morro thought, groaning, “Yes yes, I know. I need to take care of myself. I’ve heard.” Morro interrupted his sensei, “Good, then I hope you’ll listen this time,” His sensei told him, looking down at him with his usual smile.

Morro sometimes thought that the smile that Sensei Wu wore was fake, just an illusion. A mask of sorts. 

Morro rolled his eyes once more, “Yeah, sure.” He said, ignoring his sensei for the rest of the conversation, only humming and nodding when it was appropriate. Maybe it wasn’t a good day after all.

Sensei Wu sighed. He knew his student wasn’t listening. Morro was just stubborn like that, no matter how much Master Wu tried to teach it out of him, he hoped that Morro grew out of his stubbornness.

Sensei Wu knew it was going to get him killed sooner or later. 

“After your training, Morro, you’ll study the scrolls with me.” Sensei Wu told Morro, he needed another set of hands to help him and Misako wasn’t there, so he wanted his student to help him. “I guess,” Morro mumbled, he never liked studying the scrolls. He had so many other more important things to do than just read some stupid scrolls!

Once the two finished, Morro instantly made his way to the training area. Not even saying bye to his sensei. Though, he knew he didn’t need to. It isn’t like his master is halfway across Ninjago, Morro could probably poke his head in the monastery and see his sensei. 

But anyways, Morro set up the training set fairly quickly. There wasn’t any other person around, but it was fine. Morro didn’t need anyone, to spar with. He can do perfectly fine by himself.

Morro started to train through the set, getting through it easily. He increased the speed and got through it again, some cuts, but he didn’t care. Morro didn’t care if he was cut in half, he had a destiny to uphold.

Up and then down. Now to the side. Morro solely focused on his surrounding, nothing more, nothing less.

He got hit and kicked and thrown on the floor. But he didn’t care, each time he looked up at the training dummies and the set itself, it seemed to taunt him. Saying that he wasn’t good enough, not strong enough. Morro clenched his teeth.

He just wanted them to shut up . He was strong enough, was worthy enough. Morro didn’t care if he had to kill himself to prove it. 

He trained again and again until he could barely stand.

There were bruises and cuts all over his body, but Morro acted as if there was no pain. Out of sight, out of mind as they say. Morro knelt down on the ground, it didn’t matter if he didn’t want to feel pain, his body was exhausted. He hated the feeling. The feeling that he couldn’t do anything.

Morro panted as he looked up at the sky, trying to distract himself from the obvious wounds on his body. 

That's when Sensei Wu walked outside. He saw the training set and the cut-up dummies around, and that's when he knew that Morro did it again, he overworked himself again . He sighed, when will that boy ever learn? 

Sensei Wu looked around behind the sets, behind the dummies. Not finding the boy. For a second, he thought that Morro just forgot to put away the training set and went inside, he hoped so.

But that's when he found a figure slumped down by the Monastery wall. Sensei Wu knew it was his student. It was rare to see Morro like this, Sensei Wu usually interfered before it got this bad. Was he gone for that long? Master Wu could swear it was only for about an hour. He internally groaned, he knew that he would have to keep a closer eye on his student. 

He instantly ran up to Morro in obvious panic, “I told you not to overwork yourself, Morro!” He exclaimed, observing Morro’s wounds over and over, to make sure he didn’t miss anything, “Sensei, I’m fine ,” Morro rolled his eyes, coughing, “Just… tired.” Morro sighed, why was his sensei overreacting so much? It was just a couple of cuts and bruises, he’s fine!

But, Sensei Wu only looked at him with his usual concerned look when this happened. Morro could always tell he was worried for him 24/7, he knew he was the reason why he would find some gray hairs on his master’s head.

“I’m sorry, sensei…” Morro said sheepishly. Sometimes, he would feel bad for his master. Having to deal with someone like Morro isn’t an easy task yet Sensei Wu had to put up with him every day. Morro was always scared that his dad would kick him out for being so reckless. For being such a nuisance. 

Sensei Wu sighed, he was used to this at this point but he wished he wasn’t. He picked up his student, “Come on, I’ll bandage your cuts.” He said, carrying Morro inside. Morro frowned, he never liked getting help, it just wasn’t him. He didn’t need help, he always considered people who got help to be weak. That’s just what he was told, how he was treated. Every time when he needed help back on the streets, nobody came. 

Only Sensei Wu. 

“Morro, it’s okay to get help. Trust me, if nobody got help, then everyone in this world would be dead.” His sensei told him, a gentle smile on his face though the things he said were rough. Morro didn’t know if he was just talking to himself or if his sensei just knew what he was thinking. It was easy to tell what Morro was thinking in these situations. 

Morro huffed, “I’m sorry master.” He apologized again. Sensei Wu laid Morro down, Morro sat up despite his master’s warnings. Master Wu took out some bandages, and started to wrap Morro’s arms, “It’s alright, but, I guess we won’t be able to look at the scrolls today.” Sensei Wu sighed, his eyebrows raising upwards, almost saddened that they weren’t able to read the scrolls. 

Morro tried his best to suppress a laugh but failed in the end. 

Chapter Text

    It's been a week since the battle. 

     Lloyd has been in and out of consciousness and Morro set up a camp and has been treating his wound, as well as his own with medication and bandages from the city. Morro was angry, not at Lloyd, but at himself. He tried to push Lloyd out of the way but was too slow, Prince Kalmaar was faster. He underestimated how badly his wounds would affect him. 

    Now, because of him, Lloyd would have a permanent reminder of a fight that he wasn’t meant to fight. The only reason Prince Kalmaar had followed them was that Morro decided to go to that damned village. Morro gritted his teeth when thinking of it, Lloyd was barely reaching 12, he’s just a kid . 

    The one good thing about all of this was that he was able to get a hit on Prince Kalmaar. 

    “How stupid humans are!” Morro remembered Prince Kalmaar laughing, smiling with glee as his student bled. Morro wasn’t thinking at that time, he couldn’t. All he felt was rage. It all happened so fast. Yet, it made Morro smile when he thought back to it. 

    When Prince Kalmaar was distracted with his monologuing, Morro struck him, cutting off one of his tentacles. He remembered the inhumane scream he heard as blood splashed across the grass. Morro remembered the satisfying feeling he felt, how he smiled wickedly.

    “You dare strike me?!” Prince Kalmaar exclaimed, a shocked look on his face. It seemed as though he didn’t expect a permanent injury during this battle. Did he think so little of humans? But, that wasn’t Morro’s concern for Prince Kalmaar’s ego, he only cared about his student. 

    Well, he did take some pride in striking the monster. But, who’d blamed him? 

    “I’ll be back, I will kill you and your damned student, I swear it on my father’s life!” Prince Kalmaar swore, yet it didn’t frighten Morro. He smiled, “Go ahead and try.” He spat out with glee and satisfaction. 

    Then, Prince Kalmaar crawled away. Morro would’ve finished his life if it weren’t for the fact that Morro himself had too many wounds. 

    Yet, no matter the satisfaction, it could not reverse the damage that was done to his student, Lloyd. Morro felt regret as he looked down to his side where Lloyd laid. The boy’s eyes were closed, he looked at peace. Morro let out a chuckle, it was so ironic. He knew he would have to replace Lloyd’s bandages soon. But to replace his bandages, he would need to get more bandages since they’re running out. He highly doubted he had enough for the both of them to share.

    But, they weren’t far from Ninjago City. After all, they were attacked the day after they left the city, though it’s a bad thing they were attacked, Morro was glad they were close enough so they could get supplies.  And not only that, they didn’t exactly travel very far on that day. Morro knew that he could make a trip back to the city in a half day, maybe even less.

    That was how Morro supplied both him and Lloyd with bandages and the right medications. Though Morro couldn’t make too many visits, after all, he didn’t want to get caught stealing them. It didn’t help that he wasn’t fully recovered either. 

    He usually went with his scarf and Lloyd’s straw hat, which he just gave him recently. Morro felt a tinge of guilt each time he took it with him but he didn’t want to get caught. It would just put both of them in a tougher situation.

    Morro sighed, thinking of his options. He might be able to make another visit, no one caught him the last time and he would make sure he didn’t exhaust himself to the point his wounds would open up again. 

    Though, each time he left, (Which has only been 3, he remembered.) he would feel this feeling, a feeling of guilt . It never worked no matter how hard he tried to get rid of it. Morro knew the reason why he felt guilt was because of Lloyd. It’s his fault that he’s hurt, it’s his fault that Lloyd would now have a scar that would forever remind him of how much of a failure his master was. 

    Morro could barely protect a child . What does that say about him? 

    And, if it weren’t for Lloyd’s nonhuman heritage, he would’ve died . The thought of his student dead haunted Morro. He wanted to act as if he didn’t care, as if he could move on, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to. 

    Morro glanced at the boy at his side, he was so young and yet has already been through so much. 

    He looked away, why did he care so much about some boy ? Morro shook his head, each time he tried to find an answer to this question, he would find nothing. It was just a waste of time to think about it over and over.

    Morro finally got up, time wasn’t waiting for him after all. He looked up at the sky, he had time. He would be back before the sun sets if he starts heading there now. Morro glanced at the food that he put beside Lloyd and left the tent, if Lloyd were to wake whilst he is gone, there would be food he can eat, as well as water that he can drink. 

    And with that, Morro was off. His injuries made his journey much slower, but nothing he wasn’t used to. He’s had worse than just a stab wound. 

    Morro didn’t pay any attention to the scenery around him. It was a waste of time and Morro didn’t have much of that in the first place. 

    Once he got there, the sun had certainly changed positions. Morro knew he couldn’t waste time on useless things. He made sure his scarf hid who he was, though, he highly doubted anyone would know who he was in the first place. After all, almost everyone who did know him is either dead or just too busy to care.

    Though, there are exceptions. Like Ronin. Though, he was more of a ‘friend that owes him a favor’ kind of guy. Morro thought about his options. He could go to a random grocery store and hope that they had bandages, medicine, and things like that. Or he could go to a random hospital and smuggle out some things that are higher in quality.

    But, with a hospital, it would be harder to escape if he gets caught. And, also the fact that hospitals are usually more guarded than grocery stores. 

    He decided on the grocery store, it was easier to smuggle things out of there. He just hoped that they have the things he need. Though, nothing ever seemed to go his way. But, he hoped that this once something would happen in his favor. 

    He walked down the sidewalk, keeping his head down, trying to avoid suspicion. Though, he highly doubted anyone cared for him. Everyone else he saw walking past him seemed too busy on their phones or just too busy talking to each other. He liked the city for that, no one cared for who you were. 

    Morro smiled to himself. He turned the corner. “Super Market” a sign he spotted said, pointing to the side of him. He turned to find a supermarket in his view. Morro scoffed, god was this easy! 

    He smirked, maybe things were going in his favor!
   

    “Thief!” Morro heard a familiar voice shout, but he couldn’t remember who it belonged to. His smile faded almost instantly. Morro knew he shouldn’t have jinxed it, he could tell it was directed at him. Morro thought he was a fool for thinking it was going to be this easy. 

    Morro turned back, facing the culprit. His eyes widened. 

“There was a ninja over there, I swear!”

Morro remembered his student saying once, at the time he just thought that Lloyd was playing tricks on him again. Yet, the person who stood in front of him, the person who caught him, wore the same gi as the ninja Lloyd described. 

“You…” Morro started, “Thief!” The ninja exclaimed again. Who was this guy? Morro thought, he didn’t want to get caught with this, it was such a pain to deal with people like them. So, he ran. To–shake them off, let’s say. Morro ran into the alleyway, in alleyways you could easily shake off a person. But, with a ninja, it was a different story. They hid in the shadows. But, don’t forget that Morro is also a ninja. 

“Come back here!” He heard the ninja say. Morro climbed up the walls, using both the wind and the rough edges on the wall. He hoped that was enough but he knew it wasn’t. The ninja jumped up as well. A good thing to know that they’re agile as well. Morro thought sarcastically. He sighed. God was this annoying.

He turned the corner, trying to blend in with the shadow. Suddenly, a sharp pain came from his stomach. He held it with his hand in instinct. Sharp breaths came from the poor man, and he groaned. Morro could barely think, the adrenaline was too much. Of course, someone like him would have this type of luck. 

Morro took his hand off his stomach. There was blood that flowed down his hand, following his hand’s creases. He cursed to himself because this just makes everything so much better! 

    He knew then that his wound has opened up, but he could save this. It wasn’t bleeding too much, yet . Morro needed to get out of there, now. He groaned, gritting his teeth together, trying to stop himself from hissing in pain. He looked outside of the alley he hid in. But, the black ninja that chased him was no longer there. 

Morro sighed in relief, maybe he lost them. 

“I found you.” The familiar voice said right behind him. Morro didn’t turn back to face them, he started to run, trying to get out of there as quickly as possible.

The ninja continued to circle him, following his every move. 

Morro jumped down, as well did the ninja. He turned the corner, as did the ninja. Everything Morro did, the ninja wouldn’t shake. He didn’t know how much more he could take of this. If he was in perfect health, he would’ve shaken them off easily , but with his wounds, he couldn’t.

You know what? He thought. I’m ending this.

He stopped right in his tracks, “You want to do this? Fine, fight me!” He exclaimed, unsheathing his katana, and taking a stance. 

The Ninja did the same, “Give me back my son!” The ninja exclaimed, seeming furious. Wait wait, what? Morro thought, confused, “I don’t have your son.” He told them, he knew for a fact that he didn’t have anyone’s son. 

“I know you have my son!” The ninja exclaimed, Morro groaned, “Look, my priorities don’t include some snotty kid. I am a lot of things, but one thing is for sure, I’m not a kidnapper.” He told the ninja, rolling his eyes. He didn’t like kids, the only kid he liked was… Lloyd.

“Wait wait.” He tried to wrap his head around this, he knew that Lloyd’s father was still banished to the underworld, and he didn’t know where his mother was. So who was this ninja? Morro sheathed his sword, “Who are you exactly?” He asked, crossing his arms. 

“Tell me who you are first.” The ninja demanded, still having their weapon unsheathed even though Morro no longer posed a threat, “Well, seeing that the kid I’ve been traveling with has been abandoned by both his parents, I’m curious.” He told the ninja, who seemed to falter when Morro said that Lloyd had been abandoned. 

  “I did not mean to abandon him, I did what I thought was best.” The ninja seemed to say in a soft voice. Yet, Morro only scoffed, “So what you thought was best was abandoning your child?” Now, whoever this was, was getting on his nerves. The audacity to care for Lloyd after all this time? Absurd. 

Suddenly, the ninja took off her mask. She was an elderly woman, she had grey hairs and wrinkles on her face. But, Morro knew who she was. “My name is Misako, and I am Lloyd’s mother,” She said, her stance loosening, looking to the side in what seemed to be, shame.  

Morro was left wide-eyed, “Misako?” He said. Rather than to her, it seemed to himself. He hasn’t heard a word of Misako since forever! Right after Lord Garmadon was sent to the underworld, Misako disappeared from the face of Ninjago. Though Morro knew that she was alive, he couldn’t help but wonder if Misako was eaten by some creature on her adventures. 

“Now tell me, stranger, who are you? And why do you have my son?” Misako asked, her determined stance back again, yet Morro could only chuckle, “You’ve seen me use my powers, yet you still don’t know who I am? Is old age getting to you, Misako?” He asked, if Misako could see it, he was raising his eyebrows. 

Morro knew he was getting cocky, but he couldn’t help it. He enjoyed having the upper hand. 

    “So, you're an elemental master of sorts, so what? I haven’t met all the elemental masters, do you think yourself so highly of yourself?” Misako asked, spitting her anger out. Yet, she looked relatively calm but Morro could tell a storm was brewing under it. 

    Morro only laughed once more. No one remembered him, how funny. I mean, he couldn’t complain, that was what he wanted anyways. But he couldn’t help but laugh, “No no, I just thought after all these years, you still would have remembered me, Misako,” He smiled, yet Misako couldn’t see it. 

    “Fine. I don’t need to know who you are but answer my other question still stands. What do you plan on doing with my son?” She asked, glaring at Morro. Morro smiled, “I just wanted a student of my own, it was about time anyways.” Morro said, it wasn’t wrong in a sense. 

    Misako clenched her fists, “A student of your own?” She asked once more, “ God , how many damned questions do you have?” Morro asked in reply, he knew that she was stalling, “As many as I need.” She retaliated. Morro frowned, “I thought by now you would know that I hate being questioned.” Morro frowned, it was true. 

    “As I said before, I don’t know who you are,” Misako stated, her words firm. It pissed Morro off, he didn’t know why. He didn’t want to know why. He shouldn’t have been this angry. He took off his hat and scarf in a fit, throwing them on the cold, hard ground. 

    Misako gaped. Morro put a foot forward.

    “You don’t even know Master Wu’s first student? Did your age spoil your memory?!” He exclaimed in anger, seeming out of breath, pointing a thumb toward himself. Morro wasn’t meant to be forgotten , he was meant to be remembered and celebrated. 

Misako gasped. Morro glared at the old hag, he remembered her. Of course, he would! She was his master’s crush, Morro could remember the many times Sensei Wu would either get flustered or stutter because of the woman. He hated her so damn much. He was supposed to be number one in Sensei’s heart. Him! And no one else!

“Morro…?” Misako asked, seeming to be in disbelief as she covered her gaped mouth with the palm of her hand. Morro chuckled, “The one and only!” He shouted a toothy smile across his face, he enjoyed this. The reaction, the disbelief , fueled him like no other.

Misako took a pause, Morro could see the gears turning in her head. 

“But how?” She asked, “You’re…” 

“Dead? I wish.” Morro cut off Misako, rolling his eyes. He then put his hands on his hips, “Are we done with the damned questions?” He asked with one eyebrow cocked up, he hated this. It was annoying, sure, he found it enjoyable with Misako’s reaction and all, but he was wasting time. 

“What of my son?” She asked, her eyebrows pulled together in concern and determination, but Morro only scoffed. He was done answering her questions. Morro knelt down and grabbed his scarf and hat. 

Suddenly, a sharp pain in his stomach spiked. Morro groaned and held his hand out on the ground, acting as a support to hold up Morro high enough so he didn’t completely fall on the said ground. 

Morro gritted his teeth, he knew then he didn’t have much time. Goddamnit..! Morro cursed to himself, he could feel the blood flow onto his hands. 

“Morro!” He heard the old hag exclaim in a worried tone, “I’m fine! I don’t need your damned help!” Morro gritted out as he slowly stood up, holding himself to attempt to keep balance. He put on the straw hat. 

I don’t need anyone’s help. He thought. I’ve survived this long without help, I don’t need anyone else. 

“It seems as though you still haven’t changed, Morro.” The old woman said, staring him down, “When will you learn that even the strongest of people need help?” Misako asked, crossing her arms. Morro glared at her, gritting his teeth as he balanced himself against the wall. 

Misako sighed, Morro was still as stubborn as ever. “Let me help, Morro. You know you need treatment for the wound you have.” She tried to persuade him, but Morro didn’t say a single thing. “Come on, you know that you don’t have much time,” 

Come on, Morro. You know you need me. Misako thought in hope. 

Morro groaned, “Fine.” He mutters under his breath, though, he knew the old hag heard it. He knew that if he didn’t heal his wounds then, he would just bleed himself out to death. Morro is stubborn, but not that stubborn. Misako smiled and hummed, grabbing one of Morro’s arm and putting it over her neck. Morro still held his stomach with one hand. 

Morro coughed and Misako started to walk out of the alley, “You’re alright, I’ll help you.” With that, Morro, unwillingly, slipped into unconsciousness. 

__

Morro woke up with a startle. He instantly sat up but he immediately had to lie back down due to the sharp pain that came over him. He groaned, closing his eyes for a moment. He tried to think but his head pounded. Morro hissed in pain.

“Stay laying down, you’ll just open your wounds again.” He heard Misako’s voice, though he could not see her. She was most likely across the room. Morro realized then, he was no longer in the alleyways, but in a room. Despite Misako’s warnings, he slowly sat himself up. He suppressed another hiss. He didn’t want to hear an ‘I told you so’ from her or anyone in that manner. 

He was right, he saw Misako nearby, what seemed to be, an oven top. Or a counter, whatever it was. He didn’t exactly know where he was, but it seemed to be a small apartment of sorts. It was a room, Morro could tell he was lying on top of a bed. It was firm as if it had hardly been used. Though, if this is truly Misako’s living quarters, then it’s to be expected. Morro wasn’t the only explorer in the room after all. 

He knew that she had bandaged him, and no matter how much she hated her, he could only be grateful for her naiveness and stupidity for taking him in.

Speaking of Misako, he could see her from across the room, just as he thought she was. She held a teapot, pouring tea into two cups.  Suddenly, Morro was blinded by the light. He put up his hand to cover the sun's rays, it was morning.  Morro furrowed his eyebrows together, and pain pulsed from his forehead. 

Morro has never been a morning person, but he never wanted to waste time, always getting up when the sun rises. Lloyd on the other hand- 

Wait,

Lloyd.

His eyes widened. How long was he unconscious? Morro gasped for air but he only coughed. He put an arm down to keep his balance, “What did I say about staying lying down?” Misako asked, giving him a side-eye. 

Morro didn’t care for her warning, he had better things to worry about. Yet, what ticked him off the most is that Lloyd’s mother , the same one who was so damned concerned about her son, forgot about him.

“Of course, you would forget,” Morro snapped, his eyebrows furrowed in anger, side-eyeing her just as she was him. Misako sighed, as if she had not a care in the world, “What could have I possibly forgotten?” She asked, turning back to her tea. It only made Morro angrier, he rolled his eyes, “You forgot about your son .” 

Morro could tell that was the line that made her slip, made her stutter in her tracks. He groaned when he felt another sharp pain in his chest. Though, the bandages on Morro’s chest didn’t bleed. He was glad about that. 

“My son, is he alright?” She asked in a soft tone, her back still turned against him. Morro couldn’t see her expression, but he hoped it was full of regret and somberness. He chuckled, not out of Lloyd’s safety, but the irony of her. She went and chased him down to see if her son was safe , but she ultimately put him in more danger. 

“Your son?” He smirked for a second, but it faded just as quickly. Anger quickly took form. He knew that Lloyd could take semi-care for himself, but even the thought of Lloyd being alone in that tent angered him. “Let’s be honest, I was the only one who could take care of him, yet you took that away . Whatever happened to the kid, it’s in your hands.” He scoffed at the end, a mother who cared oh so much for her son, couldn’t even remember that he existed. Morro could laugh. 

Before Misako could say anything, Morro sat on the edge of the bed, “I’m going to do my job as a master and take care of my kid.” He scolded, gritting his teeth together. He used his hands to stand himself up. The bed creaked as he stood himself up. He bit his tongue. 

“I’ll go with you.” Misako turned to Morro then, her face contorted in both determination and regret. He rolled his eyes, “Why? So you can abandon him again?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow high. Misako seemed to bite her tongue, it looked as though she wanted to say something, but didn’t. 

Morro didn’t bother to wait for her, why would he? He didn’t need her now, as he didn’t need her then. She was someone from the past, and Sensei had always said, the past is the past. 

“At least take something, like medicine,” Misako told him, in a calm tone. It pissed him off, though he knew she only used her calm voice to hide the panic, it made him mad. How could she leave her own kid? Was it because Lloyd just reminded her of her husband, Lord Garmadon? But, the only thing Morro was reminded of Lord Garmadon was the red eyes, and even that wasn’t all that bad. Sure, it crept Morro out sometimes, but both he and Misako has seen worse in their lifetimes.  

Lloyd was a sweet kid, too good for this goddamn world. It wasn’t fair, but, nothing in life is fair. The world kept spinning, even if you were no longer in it. 

 But, he didn’t refuse her offer. It was the entire reason why he was even in the city in the first place. Morro took the bandages and medicine, he didn’t read the labels, he just took what he could. He didn’t know how much time he had left, he needed to leave, now . 

Morro started to walk out of the room, some part of him expected Misako to stop him, maybe join him. Yet, she did nothing. She stood there as if she was frozen in place. 

He stopped at the door and opened it. He looked back at Misako, side-eyeing her, “You are a sorry excuse for a mother,” he told her, slamming the door right behind him. 

___

Lloyd was alone. He pulled his knees closer to his chest, trembling, though he didn’t know if it was from the cold or from being scared. Scared of being alone that is. Maybe it was both.

Did… did Morro abandon him? 

No no. He wouldn’t. He promised .

…

Lloyd waited a little longer. It was early in the morning. A part of him waited for his master to be scolding him and tell him that sleeping in was just a waste of time. To say to get up and get ready to train.

But it never came.  

It never came.

Lloyd’s head pounded due to his crying. His eyes were red and puffy, and his palms felt as though they were being stabbed with needles. Why was he so surprised? Everyone left him in the end.

His lips quivered as he hiccuped. He didn’t bother to wipe his tears away, what was the point anyway? He’ll just keep crying, just like the crybaby he was. He was just some… big fucking crybaby. 

It was just so unfair!

Everything was just so unfair! Lloyd deserved better ! He deserved a normal life! Not the life of some cruel dictator , or-or the life of the grandson of The First Spinjitzu Master!

Ugh! It just wasn’t fair! Not fair! Not fair! Not fair! 

He hiccuped. Was he just that selfish? That selfish that he wished he was better than everyone else?

Everything he did was just for attention, he knew people would just get tired of him. God, was he so damn useless. A waste of space. Lloyd wanted to say something, anything . Maybe even a hum, or something. But, he couldn’t. He stopped trying after the 2nd attempt. It's not as if he cared anyways. 

He didn’t care? No no, that isn’t right…

…

Nothing.  

Lloyd didn’t know how much time passed, maybe it was just 5 minutes, maybe it was an hour. 

His legs started to slip away from his chest, and Lloyd sniffled. He wasn’t really looking at anything, he wasn’t thinking either. Just a big stupid empty head. Lloyd could laugh. He was so stupid. But, he didn’t.

He felt… off. 

Lloyd couldn’t describe the feeling. He didn’t feel sad anymore. But, empty? He felt… disconnected from the world as if everything around him was fake. He felt like his body wasn’t his own. It was weird, but, he didn’t care. At least, he didn’t think so. It felt like he was in some fever dream, that nothing was real.

Dissociating. 

He remembered one of his friends… 

friends? Did he even have any friends back at school? He remembered the bullies, it wasn’t hard to forget them. But, what about…

Brad. Brad was his friend. 

Right? 

“Shut up! Lloyd, you know I’m your friend!” Lloyd remembered Brad saying once. Lloyd was having doubts about Brad actually being his friend and that it was not just being some cruel prank again, “I just gotta toughen you up, you know? Nerds stay together, but we can’t stay friends if you get expelled!” 

Oh yeah. He was expelled. Does that mean he wasn’t Brad’s friend anymore? 

He guessed not. 

When they were friends, Brad told him he was dissociating once, it was after the school day was over and they were in the dorms. Brad and Lloyd were roommates so they shared a dorm. 

Gene and the others pulled another prank on him and Lloyd cried for a while, for longer than usual. But, in the dorm where he sat on top of his bed, he didn’t cry. He felt disconnected from his surrounding. It made him feel better .

Though Brad always made him just kind of, stop? He said he was helping him. Lloyd didn’t know if Brad was just pranking him when he thought back on it, he probably was. 

Lloyd looked down at the untouched food beside him, he knew that his master left it for him. Yet, he hasn’t eaten it, he hasn’t even touched it. He didn’t feel hungry, yet his stomach ached. It hurt, he wanted it to stop hurting. 

He grabbed an apple and started biting into it, it tasted good. He hummed, continuing to bite into the apple. Lloyd sighed, throwing the apple aside when he finished. His stomach hurt less.  

__

It was dark by the time Morro could even see the tent that he had set up. He sighed in relief. He hoped his student was okay. 

Morro didn’t dare slow his pace, no matter how tired his body was. 

Morro called out for Lloyd when he reached close enough. Yet, there was no response. It worried the poor old fool. Was Lloyd asleep? He wouldn’t put it past the kid, it was late. But, something told him that something was wrong. 

Morro opened the tent flap, bending down to enter it. 

There sat Lloyd. He was awake, yet he didn’t even seem to notice Morro. Morro’s eyebrows furrowed in worry, Lloyd was usually keen on his surroundings. There was something off. 

He sat next to the boy, and Morro frowned. He should’ve been stronger, and more willing to come back earlier. Now’s not the time to dwell on the past. Morro thought, subtly shaking his head. 

“Lloyd,” He called out in a soft voice, “Lloyd, are you okay?” 

No response. 

Morro tapped on his student’s shoulder. Lloyd jumped back a bit, surprised. Morro knew that it was him who broke Lloyd out of his haze, “Lloyd- OOF” Morro was pulled into a tight hug, making him land on his back. 

Lloyd let go immediately, “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” He asked quickly. His voice sounded so… small . Morro sat up, and that’s when he noticed puffy eyes that Lloyd had. He knew then that Lloyd’s been awake and crying for a very, very long time. 

Morro shook his head, “Do not worry about me, Lloyd.” He said, a soft smile on his face, “Are you okay?” He asked, yet Lloyd seemed shocked. He didn’t care if Lloyd thought he was going soft, he was more worried about how his student was. 

Lloyd nodded to his question. Though, Morro doubted his answer, “I’ve left you alone for a long time,” He took Lloyd’s cheek in his palm, rubbing his face with his thumb, “I’m so sorry,” He pulled Lloyd into a hug, he wouldn’t let anyone hurt his kid any more. 

Wait,

His kid?

“I thought you left me,” A small voice confessed, “I thought you got tired of me,” Lloyd finished, ending with a sniffle. Morro sighed, “And, pray tell, would I do such a thing?” He asked softly, rubbing Lloyd’s back in a way to comfort him. 

Lloyd shrugged, “Everyone does at the end, I thought you would do the same thing,” He said and Morro thought again for what felt like the thousandth time. How could Misako abandon such a sweet child?

Morro stroked Lloyd’s hair, “I won’t do that, Lloyd. I promise I won’t leave you.” He said, “Okay,” Morro heard Lloyd reply. 

“Hey, master?” Lloyd called for him. Morro hummed in response, waiting for Lloyd to ask his question, “Can you- uhm… hum that one song you did before?” Lloyd asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice. 

Morro internally sighed, but he wasn’t angry or annoyed. 

He hummed the song. God , he wondered what his sensei would say to this. Maybe he would praise him, or maybe he would say something wise but confusing. He has always done that. Or, hell, say something cliche, he did that sometimes too. “The student has become the master,” Or some shit like that. 

Morro could tell Lloyd was asleep by the snores here and there, he sighed. He knew he needed to get some rest of his own unless he wanted to pass out, which Morro didn’t want to do. He closed his eyes, falling into a light sleep. 

Chapter Text

After Lloyd had gotten well enough to travel, the two set out. It’s been a week since they set out. Morro decided to pause Lloyd’s training. He debated on taking a break from teaching Lloyd educationally since that was something that Lloyd needed to learn. But, in the end, he decided to take a break from teaching as well. 

Morro hasn’t allowed Lloyd to see his wound, it looked… repulsive. It wasn’t fully healed, so Morro could only hope that it didn’t look as bad as it did now. It was a vertical line across the boy’s chest. It wasn’t clean either, the sides were ragged, similar to the spear Prince Kalmaar had. 

Yet, Lloyd seemed fine about it. Fine about a permanent scar that’ll be there as a reminder, a reminder that his master wasn’t good enough. Now’s not the time to dwell on the past. He thought for the thousandth time. He thought of different things, trying to avert his mind. Thinking about it, it’s been about half a year since Morro first meet the kid. He didn’t know if he should consider that a long time, or a short one. 

Whatever it was, during that time Lloyd gained his trust and vice versa. One thing concerned him, he never saw flyers for Lloyd at all. None. You would think a kid that hasn’t been seen for 6 months would have at least someone worry about him. 

Morro sighed, “What’s wrong, master?” He heard a voice ask, though it wasn’t out of concern more of curiosity, “I’m fine, I’m only thinking of things.” He said, waving off Lloyd’s questions. 

Lloyd hummed, looking down at his gaming console. Morro wondered if Lloyd would ever get rid of those games, though he was curious about what Lloyd was playing. He looked down at the game, it looked like a maze. There was a yellow circle with a piece cut out of it. It looked as if it was being chased, “What the hell is that?” Morro asked, pointing to the absurd thing. 

“Oh, this?” Lloyd asked, tilting his head closer to Morro as if to get his attention. Morro hummed, confirming Lloyd’s question. “Well, it’s- uhm,” Lloyd dodged a red thing with googly eyes, “It’s pac-man,” 

Morro looked at him with a confused expression, “Lloyd, you have to understand that I’ve never played a video game before, I don’t know what the hell a pac-man is.” Morro kicked a rock that was in his way, “Well, it’s like a game where you have to get all the points, which are the little dots on the screen, and not die. Well, you can die, but you only have three lives.” Lloyd said, “But the big ones, right? If you get one of those, you can hunt the ghosts instead!” Lloyd smiled.

Morro just looked at him, “So, after you do all that, then what?” He asked, crossing his arms, “Well, you win!” Lloyd told him, his eyes still glued to the screen.

 “And then what?” 

“Then you start over again!”

Morro scoffed, “That’s absurd, why play a game with no ending?” He asked, yet Lloyd sighed, “Well, I like it so,” He muttered, “But, why?” Morro asked, “There’s no ending, no satisfaction!” 

“But, it’s not always about the ending, sometimes the journey is better than the ending.” Lloyd told him before dying to one of the ghosts he told him, “Awh man, I died,” He muttered, Morro could tell it was just to himself. 

“It’s not always about the destination, Morro, but the journey.”

Morro never understood, he could never decipher his sensei’s words. God , Lloyd reminded him of his sensei, not all the time, since his master was wise and Lloyd was just plain silly, but at times like this, Morro couldn’t ignore the similarities. 

Lloyd just continued to play on his video game or pac-man , as he called it. 

They continued to walk, Morro made sure they stayed on the path, he didn’t want to lose any more time. Which is what he wanted, until Lloyd nudged him, “Hey, master, you wanna play?” He asked, though, Morro shook his head, “I’d rather not, we have to get to Jamanaki Village.” 

Lloyd pouted, begging him to play, “Come on, please!” He asked, “Only just one time, pretty pretty please!” He put his hands together. Morro sighed, rolling his eyes. Why just why? 

Yet, no matter how much Morro wanted to say no, he agreed. Maybe he was getting too soft. Lloyd showed him how to play, “Okay, so, you push the joint to move,” Lloyd pointed at, what Morro thought was, the joint, “And, these guys,” Lloyd pointed at the multi-colored creatures which resembled, ghosts, “You gotta avoid them, they’ll be chasing you so, dodge ‘em,” Lloyd said, “Everything else, I already told you about,”

Lloyd pressed start before Morro could even tell him to. It was just as Lloyd told him, he was being chased by the ghosts. Though he tried his best to dodge them, he died, “Dammit.” He cursed, “It’s good, don’t worry! You still have two more lives!” Lloyd encouraged. 

    Morro furrowed his eyebrows together, either in anger or concentration. Yet, not even long before he was revived, he died once more. He tsked, yet Lloyd only encouraged him. 

    He sighed when he died the third time, giving it back to Lloyd. “It’s fine, you did your best!” Lloyd pitied him, Morro rolled his eyes, “I don’t need pity, especially yours.” Morro said, rolling his eyes. Lloyd stuck his tongue, “I wasn’t pitying you or whatever! I was just saying better luck next time,” He hemp-ed, crossing his arms.

    Morro sighed, rubbing his temple. 

    Morro looked up and chuckled. He could see Jamanakai Village on the mountainside. Finally , he thought, we’re here . 

    Lloyd groaned, “We’re gonna have to climb so many stairs!” He exclaimed, throwing his hands down, “You’ll be fine.” Morro stated right as he started to climb the stairs, Lloyd following him. Though, due to Lloyd’s gloomy expression, he could tell he didn’t want to do this. Morro didn’t really care. 

“Why are we even doing this?” Lloyd groaned, dragging his feet. Morro just glared at him, daring him to say another word. Lloyd instantly stood straight and caught up with his master. 

Lloyd looked to the side, trying to ignore the aching pain that was forming in his legs. He saw the snow and on instinct, he started to shiver. He pulled the straw hat off his head and put on his hood. The ribcage one. His master always complained about his hoodie, how it gets in the way during training and such, yet his master was the same one who sew it up after the Prince Kalmaar incident. 

He smiled, putting his straw hat back on his head, acting as a double shield. It also helped to keep his hood on, since the wind seemed to want to take it off. Though, he couldn’t tell if his master was controlling the wind or if nature was just doing its thing. 

He looked at the snow again, the higher they got, the colder it got. He remembers his master teaching him why it was like that, it was like about the atmosphere thinning or something. Lloyd should really pay more attention to his master’s lessons. 

There were some dark trees, he didn’t know what they were called. But, he liked how they looked, it was nice. It kinda looked like a large, green pinecone that was made of leaves instead of a pinecone.

“Do you really want to know why we have been traveling all around?” His master asked. Lloyd instantly looked up at him, yet he could only see his back, “Yes, please!” He exclaims. Before, Lloyd was never allowed to question his master’s motives, but, now his master will tell him! He suppressed a laugh. 

“Because I want to defy destiny. I want to be the green ninja .” He told him, yet, Lloyd only tilted his head to the side, “Destiny? And, green ninja?” He asked, what destiny? What green ninja? 

“There is a prophecy, that one ninja will rise above the others and become the Green Ninja, who is destined to defeat the dark overlord,” Morro stated. My dad? He thought, will my master fight my dad? He wondered. But, his dad was banished to the underworld, at least, he thought so.

Lloyd shook his head, “I think, I think that you can do it, master!” Lloyd encouraged. Morro smiled, he was glad for his student, “I’ve been hunting down for years for the First Spinjitsu Master’s grave, your grandfather,” Morro told Lloyd, with a smile on his face. 

That's when Lloyd came to a realization. The only reason why Morro picked him as a student was because he was the grandson of the man Morro was chasing, well, it was more of his grave rather than the man himself . 

Lloyd looked to the side, he wasn’t angry or sad for the reason. His master was smart to pick him. Lloyd was just happy to have a home. And, if it means finding the grave of his grandfather, he’ll help him. 

But one thing stood out, why were they going to Jamankai Village? If it was the grave of such a powerful man, why would go to a common village? Wouldn’t he want something more, I don’t know, significant? 

“Master, don’t you think his grave would be somewhere else? Jamankai Village isn’t all that special,” Lloyd shrugged, yet his master sighed, “Ronin told me that there was a clue here or nearby here,” Master told him, “Oh yeah, that one guy from Stiix, right?” His master hummed, confirming Lloyd’s suspicion. 

“I’m starting to think that my former sensei has the clue, maybe it has something to do with the golden weapons or something of that sort.” Master Morro told his student, but Lloyd was curious about his former sensei. Who taught his master? Lloyd thought for a moment.

Who would have the golden weapons? He thought, putting his hand on his chin in thought, “My uncle?!” He exclaimed. Uncle Wu was the only person he knows that have the golden weapons, or , his students do at least. 

Morro hummed once more, his back was still turned against Lloyd so he couldn’t see his expression at all. “Damn, I didn’t know he was that old…” Lloyd mumbled to himself, when he looked up, his master gave him a side eye, “What exactly are you implying?” He asked, glaring Lloyd down. “Nothing! Nothing, master,” Lloyd quickly said, putting his hands up. 

Master Morro just scoffed, looking back forward. Lloyd exhaled in relief, holding his heart with his hand. Though, he wondered, did master know of his uncle’s other student? “Hey, master?” He asked. He waited a moment to make sure his master heard him, “You know of my uncle’s other students, right..?” He asked, nervously. 

The wind picked up, almost in fury, “Yes, Lloyd, I know of them.” Lloyd tensed, at least he knew that it was a sensitive subject. His master sighed, and the wind relaxed. Lloyd relaxed with it. 

“Don’t we need a plan or something?” Lloyd asked, “‘Cause I know that the ninja is strong!” Lloyd remembered when they hung him off a pole, that had strength, and because, “And their powers too!” He said, in a worried tone. 

Yet, his master chuckled to himself, “My dear student, you forget that they’re not the only elemental masters.” Lloyd smiled, he realized that his master was strong too, stronger than the ninja. 

“So, what’s the plan, master?” Lloyd asked, a smile on his face. His master started to explain his plan, telling Lloyd what he needs to do.

Chapter Text

    The first part of the plan was getting Travelers Tea, or whatever it’s called. From what Master Morro told Lloyd, it was a type of tea that could transport you anywhere, or in any realm. Apparently, this old woman named… um… Mystake! Yes, that was her name! She had a weird name, though Lloyd couldn’t say much with his name. She sold super weird teas and Master Morro said that Travelers Tea was one of them. 

    His master told him to wait outside while he goes inside to buy the tea. Of course, Lloyd protested, but Morro wasn’t hearing any of it. He highly doubted that Mystake would let him buy any tea with Sensei Wu’s nephew. Morro knew Mystake was a close friend of Sensei Wu. Travelers Tea is essential to their escape, Morro can’t afford to take even the slightest of chances. 

    Creak…

      Morro opened the door, walking inside. The door closed behind him as if it had been built to do that. He walked up to the counter, money in hand. The old woman stood in front of him, though she was behind the counter. 

    “What do you want?” Mystake asked, her old, hoarse voice shaking Morro to the core, though he did not show it. Mystake always seemed… off. As if she wasn’t human. Yet, his sensei never seemed to notice. Morro always had a bit of fear each time he encountered her. 

    Though it seemed as if Mystake didn’t recognize him at all, he thanked the First Spinjitzu Master. He suppressed a sigh of relief. 

    “I want to buy Travelers Tea.” Morro stated, pushing the money on the counter, hoping she would just make this short. Morro didn’t want to waste any time. The sooner, the better. 

Mystake took the money and started to count it. She hummed, “You are a fool to buy this tea, though, it isn’t any of my business, now is it?” She stated, “I’ll get it from the back,” And with that, Mystake went to the back of the store. 

    Morro stayed behind the counter, waiting for the old hag. He sighed, she had a history of taking her precious time getting the tea her customers wanted. Well, she was always like that with Sensei Wu. 

    Morro looked around the shop, he could tell that it had aged a lot since the last time he was there. It was to be expected, but Morro couldn’t help but be a little sad. 

    He heard the floors creak, he knew it was Mystake. She came back sooner than Morro expected, part of him doubted that she actually had Travelers Tea. Mystake took out a teapot, having Travelers Tea inside, on the counter, waiting for Morro to grab it. 

    Morro faltered for a moment before grabbing the teapot. The old woman raised an eyebrow, “It isn’t poison, if that’s what you think it is.” She said. Morro had forgotten how easily she could read expressions. Morro shrugged. He opened the door to leave, it creaked as he did. He walked outside, the door closing behind him.

    Lloyd was right outside waiting for him, he sat crisscrossed on the dirt floor, playing Pac-Man . Morro snapped his fingers to get the kid’s attention, which worked seeing how Lloyd snapped his head towards Morro. 

    He instantly got up, putting his gaming console away as he walked beside his master. He put his hands behind his back, leaning forward, “So,” Lloyd started, trying to look at the Traveler’s Tea, “So what?” His master repeated, Lloyd straightened his posture, looking at his master directly, “So you have the thing, right?” He asked, yet his master only sighed, “Yes, Lloyd, I have it ,” 

    Morro grabbed the duffle bag Lloyd passed to him, putting the teapot inside. Lloyd smiled, “It’s my turn, right?” He asked, his master nodded. He was excited about this. 

    Lloyd and his master went in separate directions, getting ready to execute the plan that Morro has planned. 

    ___

Kai took a bite out of his pepperoni pizza, licking his lips after. He sat down with the others, having a gaming controller in his hands. He chuckled to himself, he wanted- No . He knew he was gonna win this round. 

With a dodge and a hit, he took out his brothers. Jay groaned, “Oh come on! I was about to get him!” He exclaimed. The others made similar remarks, saying that Kai must’ve cheated somehow. 

Kai laughed, “You guys are just sore losers, admit it!” He said, a grin on his face. Cole just rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, he heard the door slam open. 

He and his brothers looked for the source, finding Sensei Wu. And from his expression, he wasn’t exactly pleased . Sensei Wu frowned, “So, this is what you do in your free time?” He asked, almost in an angered tone. 

Kai sighed, “Come on, sensei, don’t be so harsh,” He said right as Sensei Wu looked around, “Oh, and what is this ?” Sensei asked, picking up the golden sword that was thrown on the floor, “Well, it’s, uh,” Jay started, “We wanted to see if it could cook the pizza,” Zane finished. 

They looked at Zane, “Come on man,” Cole muttered to the ice ninja, “What? It’s the truth,” Zane shrugged, whispering back to Cole, yet Cole only sighed. Zane really needed to learn how to put a little white lie here and there. 

Sensei Wu stroked his beard, “I am very disappointed with you four, you know better,” He said in his strict discipline voice which made Kai falter a little, ‘I’m sorry, sensei,” The ninja said in unison. 

It was never fun when Sensei said he was disappointed in you. 

“Hey, guys!” Nya called, walking into the room. Yet, her expression held annoyance, “What is it, Nya?” Sensei Wu asked, his hands behind his back, “You remember that one kid that tried to steal candy from Jamankai Village?” She asked, sighing and crossing her arms, “Oh yeah, what was his name again? Floyd or somethin’?” Kai asked, “Lloyd, my nephew,” Sensei Wu corrected. 

“Yeah, that’s the one!” Cole exclaimed, “Yeah, we remember that kid. Is he causing trouble again?” Kai asked, a hand on his hip. Nya nodded, sighing. 

Right as the ninja were about to grab their weapons, Sensei Wu stopped them, “Lloyd is only a child, you do not need these,” He said, yet the ninja complained. “But sensei!” Jay exclaimed, “Butts are for sitting, now go,” Sensei Wu told them, leaving the room. 

Cole sighed, “Come on guys, let’s go ride our dragons.” He said, almost saddened about the fact that they couldn’t bring their awesome weapons. Though, Nya stopped the ninja, “Is it okay if I come too?” She asked, “It’s only a kid, so there's no danger at all!” 

Kai shook his head, “Sis, you're needed here, and anyways, why would you want to deal with some bratty kid?” He asked before turning his back against her and running towards his dragon, leaving Nya saddened. 

The ninja hopped on their dragons, well, tried to at least. Jay fell, as did Cole. Kai almost fell as well, but he pretended he didn’t. Kai winced, he knew that they all were rusty, he made a note to train more. 

Once everyone was now on their dragons, they flew towards Jamankai Village. Kai wasn’t exactly excited to see Lloyd any time soon. The kid was a brat, and who liked brats? Kai sure didn’t. 

___

Lloyd waved candy around, a cart in front of him filled with candy. In the distance, he could see the familiar dragons in the sky. He smiled, plopping a lollipop in his mouth. 

He leaned against a building, waiting, watching . Lloyd was stronger than he was 6 months ago, much stronger. Well, he was at least more agile than before. He knew that he may not be able to beat them in strength, so he wanted to beat them with agility. 

He smiled as he watched them land on the ground. The ninja jumped off of their dragons, mouthing something but Lloyd couldn’t hear them, though he didn’t really care. Why would he? They’re just some stupid ninjas!

The red ninja was the first one to spot Lloyd, he pointed at him. Lloyd guessed it was to alert the others. He rolled his eyes, he seriously didn’t like them. Lloyd grabbed the handles of the cart and started to move closer to them.

“Seriously, kid? Do you not remember what happened last time you did this?” The black ninja asked, putting his hands on his hips, “We beat you the last time!” The blue one said. Lloyd guessed it was to back up the black ninja. It made them look stupid. 

“Oh, yeah? Well, I’m stronger now! So I’m gonna defeat all of you!” Lloyd exclaimed, sticking out his tongue. Kai started to walk up to Lloyd, a furious look on his face, “You little-!” “Kai now is not the time to get agitated. We are facing a child, so this won’t be much of a problem,” The white ninja put his hand on the red ninja’s shoulder. The red ninja sighed and then nodded. 

The way the ninja underestimated Lloyd this much pissed him off, he wasn’t weak! He spat out his lollipop. He didn’t want the lollipop to get in his way. Lloyd stretched his arms, waiting for the ninja to pull the first move. 

“Come on guys, we don’t have all day!” Cole commanded before running towards Lloyd. Lloyd just ran to the side. He didn’t know that they could get even rustier since the last time Lloyd saw them, the only advantage they had was that they were older. Lloyd wished he could get older in a snap, it would make things so much easier. 

But, he didn’t have time to complain now. He ran the opposite way that the black ninja was running. The black ninja instantly turned back, almost with a stunned look on his face. It was funny. Lloyd blew a raspberry, wanting to agitate the ninja more. 

The black ninja groaned, “Come on, kid! We just want to go home, you probably want to go home too! So, let’s clean up this mess and leave, yeah?” The red ninja said almost in dismay. Lloyd turned his head to the side, “Nope!” he said. 

It’s not like he had a home to go to anyways. 

The red ninja rolled his eyes, “Fine, you want to do this the hard way? Let’s do this the hard way.” He told him, charging at the kid. Yet, he seemed to hold back, unless he just really was that out of shape. It was disappointing. 

Lloyd turned to the side and put out his foot, tripping the poor man, and making him fall flat to the ground. The blue ninja laughed before getting hit on the shoulder by the black ninja. Lloyd stomped on the red ninja’s hand, he heard a crack but he doubted he broke any bones. The red ninja hissed in pain.

The other ninja tensed, but not out of fear. Maybe out of anger? I mean, Lloyd just kinda stepped on their comrade's hand, so he would be concerned if they weren’t mad. 

“No one messed with our brother!” The black ninja exclaimed, yet, Lloyd chuckled. He walked away from the red ninja, he didn’t want him to drag Lloyd to the ground and beat him up, did he? “And, who’s gonna stop me?” He asked, leaning forward. 

This is fun! Lloyd thought, a smile on his face. 

Right as the black ninja was about to charge at Lloyd, the white ninja stopped him, “I don’t think it’s suitable to beat up a child, Cole.” He told him. Lloyd scoffed. “Oh, come on Zane! The brat just stomped on Kai! Can’t you be at least more vengeful?” The blue ninja asked, waving his hands around. Lloyd could tell the blue ninja liked to over-exaggerate a lot. 

“Yes, but he is only a child, Jay,” Zane told their blue ninja friend. 

Lloyd really wished he was older, “Just because I’m a kid, doesn’t mean I’m weak!” He exclaimed, stomping his foot on the ground, “Oh yeah?” Lloyd heard a voice from behind him say, “Then how come you’re acting like one!” It was Kai, he was about to pounce on him. 

Lloyd moved out of the way just in time, he thanked his master for all the hellish training he’s been through. If it weren’t for his master, Lloyd wouldn’t have moved in time. 

Lloyd punched Kai in the stomach as hard as he could. Kai bent forward as he held his stomach, he tsked. 

Lloyd smiled, running away from Kai so he wouldn’t get punched in response, “Come on! I thought you guys were ninjas!” Lloyd said, hands on his hips. Lloyd knew what he was doing. Cole clenched his fists, “Okay, now this kid is getting on my nerves,” He said, seeming to talk to himself, “Agreed.” Jay said in response. 

Lloyd giggled, “I can do this all day!” 

__

Morro was proud of his student, he proved to be a good distraction to Sensei Wu’s other students. Though, he can’t stay much longer to praise his teachings. He had his own part to do. 

He sneaked to the edge of the village, away from the fight, if you could even call it that. It was more of a squabble rather than anything.

 Morro closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, concentrating on the wind around him. He heard a low rumble in front of him, he opened his eyes to find his elemental dragon. It was green, a deep yet glow green. There wasn’t any skin on the legs, it only showed bone. 

Morro smiled, hopping on his dragon. He held the chain reins in his hands. Morro quickly set out to the monastery. He hasn’t been able to summon his elemental dragon in such a long time, he forgot how it felt to fly in the air, the wind in his hair, it was so damn nice!

Though summoning his elemental dragon has its own problems, he could be easily spotted for one. His entire thing was about stealth. But, right now, he didn’t care. He was so close , he could feel it.

It didn’t take much time to get to the monastery, Morro could see it after mere minutes. Though he knew it wouldn’t be as easy from here on out. He didn’t see his sensei with the ninja when they went to go deal with Lloyd, so that meant he was still inside the monastery. 

Plus, he doesn’t know what the old man has been doing over the years, so he could be stronger or weaker. He knew not to underestimate his sensei. He regretted that the last time. 

Morro landed on the side of the mountain that help up the monastery, it didn’t look as different as the last time he saw it. Thud. His feet landed on the stone, and his elemental dragon dispersed. He no longer needed it, for now at least. 

Morro climbed up the wall as quietly as he could. He used the wind to give him a boost. He saw no sign of his sensei, which meant he was inside. He didn’t know if that made his part easier or harder. 

He landed inside the wall, the plaza of the place, the place where he trained. The training sets were put away, collecting dust. It saddens Morro, his sensei’s teachings have been taken for granted. Though he wished not to care, a part of him did. 

FSM , he had so many memories of this place. The memories of his training, the memories of his sensei . Morro shook his head, there was no point in reminiscing the past. 

He creaked open one of the slider doors, just a crack. He couldn’t hear anyone walking or talking, so he assumed that no one walked through the halls. Just in case, he waited a moment longer before entering the hallways. 

What was strange was that it seemed to be like a ghost town, as if it had been abandoned. 

Or as if it was a trap . 

Morro instantly unsheathed his katana, he made sure that he paid attention to everything more than usual, double-checking, listening to the wind itself to see if it heard anything at all. 

Yet, there was nothing. 

Morro started to doubt his abilities, was he just being paranoid? 

No.

No, he knew that he wasn’t just being paranoid. There was someone there, someone watching him. Someone waiting for him. He knew it wasn't his sensei, he would’ve approached him by now. 

No, this person was stealthy. Stealthier than the ninja Lloyd is facing. He smiled, “I know you’re there, come out,” He said, soft-spoken. He waited a moment or two before somebody walked out, a katana similar to Morro’s walked out. 

He knew he had to fight. 

He just hoped that his student could keep the ninja distracted long enough for Morro to grab the weapons. 

    __
    Lloyd knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep the ninja chasing after him forever. They were getting tired of him, emotionally and physically. Lloyd himself was getting tired. 

    Lloyd dodged one of Cole’s attacks, by now he’s learned all their names. Kai, Cole, Zane, and Jay. He learned them by them screaming at each other. There was a pattern to them as if they knew only certain attacks. It was a good thing that his master taught all of them to him. 

    Lloyd leaned on his knees, panting, sweat dripping down his forehead. Kai chuckled, yet he panted as well, “You give up, all might Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon?” Kai teased, pointing at Lloyd. Lloyd rolled his eyes, “Never!” Lloyd said, straightening his posture and raising his fists up, “What was that one saying you guys have? Ninja never quit? Yeah!” 

    Jay scoffed, “You’re not even a ninja!” He told him, it was Lloyd’s turn to laugh, “Oh yeah?” He asked, “How come I know all the moves you throw at me?”

    “I don’t know! Maybe you memorized them or something!” Jay accused, throwing his hands forward. Lloyd sighed, seriously? I mean, he knew that they weren’t the brightest , but come on!

    “It could be that he was trained by… someone else?” Zane pondered, putting a hand on his chin. Lloyd found Zane weird, he was like a computer or something, “Yeah, but who? We don’t know any other ninjas other than us and sensei!” Kai said in retaliation, throwing a lousy punch at the kid. 

    “What about Garmadon?” Jay asked, “Good point, but then-” 

    “Do you really think my dad would train me?” Lloyd asked, it seemed sadder than it actually was. Though, it was the truth. He was too damn busy in the underworld to take care of him, or something. And, well, Lloyd hasn’t proven himself to be evil enough. I mean, that’s why his dad was still there, right? It’s because he isn’t good enough, right?

    “Self-taught, then? Maybe the Darkley’s School has some textbooks on being a ninja or somethin’?” Jay asked then, Kai shrugged, “Whoever taught him is gonna face my fiya!” He exclaimed, his determination back as it once was. 

    Cole sighed as if he was done with both Lloyd and Kai, “Let’s beat him once and for all,” He told them, and the ninja nodded, agreeing with him. 

    __

    Morro faced someone who looked similar to Kai, he guessed she was a relative, like a sister or a cousin. Something like that. But, he figured out that she was the one watching him, not Wu. It pissed him off, did his sensei underestimate him that much? 

    “Who are you?” The girl asked, holding an iron katana, similar to Morro’s, asked. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she frowned, “I could ask the exact same question to you,” Morro retaliated, yet his face carried a calm expression. 

    Clash .

    He didn’t want to waste time, though, he also didn’t want to back away from this. He could tell that the girl felt the same, they both kept strong. Though, Morro was stronger. He has more experience. 

    He was faster and stronger. And there was one more thing, he was an elemental master. He could tell she had potential, but she had not unlocked it just yet. 

    They clashed swords, yet, right as they did, Morro tripped the girl. She didn’t fall, merely stumbled, yet that was enough to knock her out cold. Morro didn’t want to admit it, but he was a tad impressed. He could tell the girl was self-taught, yet she was able to last longer than those other ninjas ever could. 

    He walked and explored the other rooms. Some things changed, and some things stayed the same. It made Morro happy to see some things not change after all these years. 

    Morro smiled, he found them. Though, he was severely disappointed with where they lay. Pizza was all around the room, gaming controllers were nearby the tv, and golden weapons were spread out in the room. He sighed. 

    He grabbed the duffle bag he carried with him, Morro knew that he wasn’t going to able to carry all the weapons with his hands. But, he could put them in a bag somewhere. It said he could never wield all four on them, but it never said he couldn’t store them.

    He pushed the teapot that lay inside to the side to make room, and one by one, he put the golden weapons inside. Morro zipped up the bag. He swung the bag over his shoulder. Though, he did so as carefully as he could. 

    Morro walked out into the hallway, getting ready to summon his elemental dragon when he was outside. 

    “Morro…? Is that you?” An old voice from behind him asked. His eyes widened. He knew that voice, “Sensei?” No. He didn’t have time for this. He needed to get out of there, now.  

    Morro started to run, he didn’t dare to think, afraid of what his thoughts would say. Morro didn’t look back either. He couldn’t, he was too scared of what expression his sensei held. Would it be happiness? Happiness that his student was alive? Or disappointment? Seeing how Morro had spent his life chasing the destiny that sensei told him he could not have?

 “Morro, wait!” The old voice was filled with sadness, maybe some remorse as well.

    But, Morro was gone before his sensei could say another word. But, he knew that he’ll be chasing after him sooner or later. Most likely sooner rather than later. 

    He rode on his elemental dragon, flying towards Jamanakai Village where he hoped to find his student well. His heart raced and he found himself breathing too fast . Morro knew he needed to calm himself down, but he couldn’t. 

    Later . He thought, his mind still dazed. 

    He held the bag tightly in his lap, afraid that it would fly out of his hands. 

    Morro could hear a roar from behind him, he knew that roar. It was his sensei’s dragon. Morro wiped the reins, commanding his dragon to go faster. He couldn’t afford to get caught now! He was so close!

    He landed in the plaza of Jamanakai Village where the ninja fought. He first saw the ninja before he saw his own student, Lloyd. Lloyd was panting, beat out, but he was still standing. He smiled, proud of his student.

    “Lloyd, come on!” Morro called out. Lloyd immediately turned around, finding his master on an awesome dragon! he gasped but he didn’t waste any time to get on. Lloyd sat right in front of his master, he grabbed the duffel bag and held onto it. It was extremely heavy. He wondered how his master could’ve carried it at all!

Lloyd looked up to his master to ask how he did it, but when he did, he instantly grew concerned for his master. 

    His master wasn’t… himself? If that made sense. Master was panicking, whatever happened at the monastery, had shaken him up. It wasn’t easy to shake up his master, his master was proud and brave, never scared of anything. Yet, he didn’t seem scared, maybe sad and mad. Lloyd couldn’t tell. Lloyd raised his eyebrows in concern, frowning, “You okay?” he asked, yet his master gave no answer. 

    His master raised the reins and off they went. Lloyd instantly held onto his master, he didn’t want to fall off after all!

    “Lloyd, open the bag and get the tea.” His master commanded in such a tone that Lloyd couldn’t call it anything else other than harsh and cold. He knew that Master Morro was not in the mood to deal with him or his questions. 

    Lloyd unzipped the bag. Suddenly, he heard a roar, he flinched and looked behind them. A large golden dragon chased them. Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion, it was like 20x bigger than his master’s dragon! Well, that was an over-exaggeration, but you know what he meant. It was huge!

    “Hurry.” His master said. Lloyd hummed, looking through the bag. He grabbed the teapot, “What do you want me to do with it?!” He yelled since it the wind was so loud, he could barely hear his own voice, “Open it and throw the tea in front of us.” Master told him. 

    Lloyd shrugged, he knew not to question his master. He took off the lid of the teapot, and the tea sat inside, swirling around. Lloyd woahed, he never thought that tea could look so pretty. It looked like the galaxy itself. Though, he had never drunk tea before so.

    Lloyd threw the tea in front of the dragon. He watched as it swirled around, creating something that looked as if it would be in a comic book, a portal. His eyes sparked. 

    Morro headed right for the portal, he patted Lloyd’s head, “Good job,” He praised right before flying into the portal, leaving his sensei behind. 

    Morro landed, they were in some type of forest, but he didn’t know which one. There were many forests, though, he hoped it wasn’t the same forest where they were hunted down by some monster . That was a fucking nightmare. 

    Morro was the first to get off, the bag in his hands. He looked up at his dragon, finding Lloyd still up there, it looked as if he was scared. Morro sighed, offering his hand to help Lloyd down. Lloyd took it and he landed on the ground. The dragon slowly disappeared. Morro no longer had a use for it. 

    Morro sighed. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically. Though, he knew that they couldn’t sleep here for the night. 

Lloyd exhaled, and then dropped onto the floor. Morro instantly turned, looking at Lloyd, “Lloyd!” Morro exclaimed, running to his student who lay on the floor, “I’m okay, just a little tired,” Lloyd said who seemed to barely even keep his eyes open. 

Morro sighed, dropping the bag beside him and sitting beside Lloyd, “Me too, bud.” He told him, rubbing Lloyd’s back. Morro was just thankful to get out of there in one piece, he knew that the ninja didn’t hold much threat to him , but to his student, it held a different answer. They were much older than him. 

Morro sat there for about two hours, it was getting dark and he knew that the two needed somewhere to sleep that wasn’t in the open. But, right as he was about to call for Lloyd, he saw that his student was, in fact, asleep.

Though, he couldn’t blame him. He grabbed Lloyd, throwing him over his shoulder. Then the bag and started to search for somewhere to sleep for the night.

Eventually, he found a cave, and he sighed in relief. He walked inside, it seemed to be a regular cave. He was glad that he didn’t find some bear laying around. 

Morro put Lloyd down, as well as the bag, and he sat down himself. He closed his eyes, just for a moment. 

Suddenly, he jolted up. He looked around, finding Lloyd curled up to his side, and the bag nearby him. He rubbed his eyes, looking out the cave. 

It was raining, and it seemed darker than before. Morro guessed he had fallen asleep, and he sighed. 

He got up with a groan. He stretched his arms as high as he could before laying them down. He leaned down and grabbed the bag, unzipping it. He laid out the golden weapons, yet, they stayed unresponsive. God , it was so annoying!

“Master?” He heard a little voice say behind him, and he knew it was Lloyd, “Go back to sleep,” He told him, yet, Lloyd retaliated. 

Lloyd got up and rubbed his eyes, trying to make himself more awake. He walked up to his master, trying to see what he was doing. His master was always doing something , and Lloyd couldn’t help but be curious!

Suddenly, a glowing light appeared in front of him, it hurt Lloyd’s eyes. Morro gasped slightly, his eyes widening at his student. Lloyd looked at him, yet his master seemed… angry? Why would he be angry? He shrugged, “What’s wrong?” He asked. 

    “You are the Green Ninja, Lloyd.”

    His master looked at him as if Lloyd was supposed to understand. 

The… green ninja?

“Master, what are you saying?” Lloyd asked, confused. What did he mean by that? Lloyd wondered, but Morro just glared at him as if he did something wrong. Lloyd tilted his head to the side, he didn’t understand. Morro started to walk up to Lloyd, “You,” his master started before taking another breath, “You are the green ninja, Lloyd.” He repeated, malice was clear in his tone which scared Lloyd. 

    He’d never talked to him like that before. 

    Lloyd backed up, “No, no I’m not,” He said, looking to the side, trying to ignore his master’s stare. Though, he could still feel the hatred , the anger, “Yes. Yes you are,” His master told him, towering over him. Lloyd stuttered, “I- uhm- master, I don’t understand-”

    “What do you not understand?” His master asked in a harsh tone, cutting him off. He was basically spitting his words out. This was even worse than the time when he had fought Prince Kalmaar. Lloyd gulped, backing up some more. 

He could hear the pattering of the rain against the grass. It had usually calmed him through even the toughest of nights, though it didn’t help calm him at all. Lloyd felt his throat tighten. 

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry . He thought, repeatedly. You will not cry.

    “You took my dream, my entire life was to being the Green Ninja!” Morro told him. God , what couldn’t he understand?! How could he just, why ? “I took you in, I took care of you!” Morro yelled. How could he, how could he take everything away from him? “Everything I did was to be the green ninja,” He stepped closer, yet Lloyd stepped backward. 

Lloyd wouldn’t look at him, was he shameful? Shameful for his actions? He should be. “Look at me when I speak to you, Lloyd,” Morro said, trying to calm his tone. Yet, it didn’t work. Lloyd shook his head no, and his shoulders were tensed. Morro gritted his teeth, “ I SAID LOOK AT ME, ” Morro screamed, grabbing Lloyd’s face to make him look at him. 

That's when Morro softened. Lloyd was crying , fat tears were streaming down his face. Morro let go of Lloyd, his eyebrows pulled together. Goddamnit, what the hell was he thinking? Lloyd was just a kid , he had no say in whether he wanted to be the green ninja or not! “Lloyd…” Morro started.

Lloyd gasped, backing away. He tried to wipe his tears away but he couldn’t , “Lloyd wait,” His master put out his hand, trying to reach for him. Lloyd- he couldn’t- he can’t . 

“Lloyd!” 

Lloyd didn’t know when he started to run, he just found himself moving. He couldn’t breathe. He needed to get out. He couldn’t breathe. Lloyd tripped over some damned rock, he could barely see his own feet so it came as no surprise. 

He didn’t waste any time and he crawled behind some tree. He put a hand over his mouth, the rain felt nice but he was so damn cold. He shivered. Lloyd grabbed the straw hat his master gave him, and he held it tightly. He didn’t care if he didn’t deserve it, he didn’t care if his master wanted it back, he kept it. He will never let it go. 

“Lloyd! I’m sorry! Come back!” He heard his master yell, running right past him. Lloyd hugged his legs, bringing them closer to his torso by doing so. He cried. 

He didn’t mean- He never wanted to-

 Why? Just… why? He never wanted to be the green ninja, why did it pick him? He was just some stupid, weak kid! His master deserved this more than he did! It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fair! 

Lloyd stayed there, he didn’t know for how long, it felt like days , but he knew it wasn’t that long. He heard his master yell his name over and over, yet, Lloyd was too scared. He was scared that his master would just yell at him again. He wouldn’t blame him, Lloyd took away his dream. 

He heard his master’s voice get farther and farther away. Lloyd sniffled. He knew he had to get up, he didn’t belong here anymore. Back to the streets where I belonged. He thought, picking himself up. 

He was so tired, he barely got any sleep before he woke up. He rubbed his eyes, he was so damn worthless, it hurt. If he just- if he just didn’t exist, everyone would just be so happy . He bet that they would celebrate his death.

He hugged himself, walking in a random direction. 

Chapter Text

    Morro didn’t know what to do. He searched everywhere, every single rock, every single cave in the area, yet he still couldn’t find his student. He sat with the golden weapons, he just wished he had never gotten them in the first place! He wished he never knew where they were, he wished that he never made that stupid plan!  

    He got up, pacing back and forth. He stared at the golden weapons, “If you had just not existed in the first place!” He exclaimed, grabbing the golden katana, “Everything would’ve been perfect!” He threw the sword across the cave. Goddamnit! He thought, he then threw the nunchucks in the same direction where the sword was. 

    Morro sniffled and rubbed his eyes, and, he felt… tears? Was he crying? He groaned, kicking the scythe next. He put his back against the cave wall and held his head. He slowly slipped down, sitting down once more. 

    Morro could hear the birds chirping, he knew then that it was morning. He didn’t how long he was up, but it didn’t matter. 

    He made such a big fucking mistake! Morro wiped away his tears, he couldn’t tell if they were caused by sadness or frustration. Maybe both. Yet, they didn’t go away. It was funny, he hadn’t cried in such a long time. For a while, he thought he couldn’t cry anymore. 

    Morro just sat there, for the first time in a long time, he didn’t know what to do.

    __

    Lloyd didn’t stop walking, no matter how tired he was. He rubbed his eyes, the tears have dried but even then. The hiccups and sniffles still stayed, he hated it. He hated it so much. He hated being weak, he hated being worthless, he hated himself .

    It just wasn’t fair! Why did destiny pick him and not his master? 

    Lloyd kept his eyes on the ground, it changed into many things. To grass, to stone, and to… sand? He looked up, to find himself near the sea. It was beautiful. 

    The waves of the sea came up and down. Lloyd could see little seashells around. It was so nice. The sun was shining, and Lloyd realized then how long he stood up. A little nap won’t hurt, would it? He thought. 

    He decided to lie against the sand, it was warm. It felt nice. He hummed, closing his eyes. 

    “Hey! Wake up!” Lloyd heard a voice say, someone was shaking him awake. It felt as if it was only mere seconds that Lloyd was asleep. He groaned, turning on his side, trying to ignore the voice, “Come on, it’s not safe here!” The voice said again, shaking Lloyd harder. 

    Lloyd groaned once more, “Fine fine!” He said, sitting up. He rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself. He looked up to the source, expecting it to be some guy from a nearby village. But, when he looked at him, he wasn’t even human . Lloyd’s eyes widened. 

    He had blue skin with black markings on his face and sea-blue eyes. What Lloyd found the weirdest is that he had a shark tail and legs. Lloyd started backing up, trying to get away . 

    “Wait, wait, I won’t hurt you!” The shark-man said, that’s when he noticed his insanely sharp teeth. Sure, Lloyd has fangs, he got them from his dad, but all of shark-man’s teeth were sharp!

    “Hey, hey, calm down . It’s okay!” The shark-man said. Yet, Lloyd couldn’t calm down. His heart raced. The shark-man extended out his hand, “I’m Benthomaar, prince of the sea. What is your name, little one?” He asked. 

    Benthomaar didn’t seem much older than Lloyd, so his saying of ‘little one’ is a little out of place, don’t you think? Lloyd calmed down a little, he cautiously looked at Benthomaar’s hand. 

    The spaces in between the fingers have this type of webbed that looked, like one of those water creatures. Though Benthomaar didn’t look it, Lloyd knew that he was his brother or some relative. They were both the princes of the sea, “You’re Prince Kalmaar’s brother,” Lloyd said, backing up even more, in fear. 

    He’d rather not get another scar. Well, would he even live from an attack from another prince? Lloyd knew they were strong and the only reason he lived the last time was because of the fact his master protected him. 

    And his master was gone now. 

    Lloyd couldn’t breathe. 

    Benthomaar put up his hands, “It’s okay! I promise I won’t hurt you!” He had a worried expression on his face, one that Lloyd couldn’t help but trust. He gulped but nodded anyway. He slowly put his hand out, it was shaking. 

    Benthomaar smiled softly, shaking the boy’s hand, “What’s your name?” He asked again. He knew his brother to be menacing sometimes, but he was a little sad that he scared a child, “My name?” The kid spoke softly. Benthomaar nodded softly.

    The kid looked to the side, “My name is Lloyd,” He said, “Well, hi Lloyd. You know, you shouldn’t be sleeping so close to the water. You never know when a sea monster could gobble you up!” He said, waving his hands around in an over-exaggeration. 

    Lloyd let out a giggle, “Uhuh, as if,” he said, rolling his eyes, “No, I’m being serious!” Benthomaar said, yet, he couldn’t help but laugh as well, “Okay, fine. It’s only a children’s tale, but , it made you feel better, didn’t it?” Benthomaar asked, raising an eyebrow. Yet, Lloyd had selective hearing, what did he mean by children’s tale? “You’re not that much older than me!” Lloyd said, pointing at Benthomaar, “You look 10, Lloyd. I’m 15.” Benothomaar deadpanned, “I am not 10! I’m 12! Almost 13, actually!” Lloyd exclaimed, putting up his fingers even though he did not have enough. 

    “Well, my mistake. Though you are still a child, you know?” Benthomaar raised an eyebrow with a smug smile. Lloyd scoffed, rolling his eyes, “Whatever,” he mumbled to himself. Benthomaar let out a chuckle. 

    Lloyd stood up, “What are you doing on land? Don’t you live in the sea?” Lloyd asked, changing the topic. Benthomaar sighed, “I came here to help my brother, but he just dismissed me. As always,” Benthomaar frowned, but Lloyd panicked, “He’s here?” He asked in a rush. 

    “Not exactly, he’s somewhere else. He told me to go out somewhere to search for something but he didn’t tell me what…” Benthomaar held his other arm, rubbing it. Lloyd looked around in a frantic manner, trying to see if Prince Kalmaar was going to sneak up on them or something. 

    Lloyd saw nothing, he sighed in relief. Benthomaar raised an eyebrow, “Is there something wrong?” He asked. Lloyd instantly shook his head no, “No! No, there's nothing wrong!” He said quickly. 

    Benthomaar looked at him funny, “You’ve met my brother, right?” he asked in such a tone that Lloyd couldn’t help but nod. For some reason, he trusted Benthomaar. For all he knew, he could be manipulated right now. 

    “Look, I’m sorry for whatever happened,” Benthomaar started, “He’s sweet and caring, I’m sure he’ll apologize when you see him,” He said. Lloyd couldn’t help but think that Benthomaar was just trying to convince himself rather than Lloyd. 

    Lloyd looked to the side, he didn’t want to show Benthomaar what Prince Kalmaar did to him. Lloyd didn’t dare say anything else. 

    Benthomaar sighed, and he sat down. He looked up to Lloyd, “Come on, sit with me,” He patted the sand next to him. Lloyd fiddled with his fingers before deciding to sit with his new friend. At least, he thought they were friends now. 

    “Tell me, what's wrong?” Benthomaar asked in a sweet, soft voice. Lloyd shook his head, though one thing he thought was weird, is that Benthomaar knew what he was talking about, “Can you read minds?” He asked, his eyes big. 

    Benthomaar just looked at him, confused. Lloyd could see the gears turning in his head, “OH! No! No! I’m just really good at reading emotions, you know?” Benthomaar scratched his hair, “It’s just that-” Benthomaar sighed, “I don’t really have many friends and my brother dismisses me a lot so,” 

    Lloyd tilted his head to the side, “But, aren’t you a prince? Can’t you just, I don’t know, order people to be your friend?” He asked. Benthomaar laughed, “Hey! It was a good question!” Lloyd huffed, crossing his arms together. 

    “No no, it was! I just wish it was that easy,” Benthomaar stopped laughing. He stared out the sea, almost solemnly, “Well, I’m your friend now so I guess it can be that easy,” Lloyd said, a smile on his face. 

    “I am?” Benthomaar asked, turning to look at Lloyd. Lloyd hummed in agreement. Benthomaar smiled, “I’m glad to be your friend, Lloyd.” He said, “I promise to protect you from any danger!” Benthomaar said. Lloyd shrugged, “I’m strong!” Benthomaar looked at him in doubt, “I am! Don’t underestimate me just because I’m young!” Lloyd said. Benthomaar laughed, “You’re right, I’m sorry,”

    Benthomaar leaned on his arms, seeming to get comfortable, “Do you have any other friends? Except me,” He asked. Lloyd looked down at the sand, hugging himself, “Oh! You don’t have to answer the question if you don’t want to!” Benthomaar said quickly. 

    Lloyd bit his bottom lip, “I- uhm. My master, if that counts?” He looked up at Benthomaar, “We sorta had an argument-” One-sided argument, “And I ran away,” Lloyd could feel his throat close up, just thinking about it-

    “I’m such a coward!” Lloyd said, burying his face in his hands, “Hey hey,” Benthomaar said, “You aren’t a coward,” He told him, “It’s okay,” 

    Lloyd rubbed his eyes, “He hates me now,” He said, yet Benthomaar hushed him, “He doesn’t hate you. Sometimes, adults make mistakes, you know? He probably made a mistake and maybe you made a mistake? I don’t know. One thing I do know is that you don’t hate him and he doesn’t hate you. So, it’s fixable, isn’t it?” He asked him with a smile. Lloyd looked to the side, “I guess…” He said. 

    Benthomaar sighed, “Come on, let’s go find him, okay?” He asked, getting up and standing on his feet. He offered a hand to the kid beside him. Lloyd nodded, wiping the forming tears in his eyes, “Yeah, let’s go,” Lloyd said, taking Benthomaar’s hand.

    “ Brother, what are you doing? ” A voice asked in a harsh tone. Lloyd knew that voice, it was Prince Kalmaar’s.  

Chapter Text

    Lloyd instantly turned around, finding the weird tentacle man again. Lloyd’s eyes widened and he gasped, falling on the sand. He was trying to crawl away. He didn’t want to die. One thing that he noticed first was that one of his tentacles was gone. It seemed to have been sliced off. He knew that his master did that unless Prince Kalmaar fought another master of the wind, which he highly doubted.

Prince Kalmaar paid no mind to him, instead, he looked at Benthomaar in a furious manner, “Why are you hanging out with him?” He asked in an accusing tone, pointing his iron spear, which was laced with gold, at Lloyd. Lloyd was scared that he was going to kill him. 

    Benthomaar looked him straight in the eyes. The colors always seemed to hypnotize him. His heart raced, yet he stood firm, “No.” He said, puffing his chest, trying to make himself look brave, “I won’t let you kill another human!” Benthomaar exclaimed, standing in front of Lloyd, holding his arm out. Prince Kalmaar scoffed, “I’m your brother ,” He said, yet, Benthomaar didn’t budge. Lloyd couldn’t tell if Benthomaar was stupid or courageous. Probably both.

    Yet, Lloyd couldn’t help but be happy. Not many people were like that, especially Lloyd. The only couple of people Lloyd could think of was Brad and… his master, Morro . 

Lloyd could tell the moment that Prince Kalmaar knew his brother wasn’t going to move that he was angry. Furious, even. Lloyd knew then that Benthomaar was most likely easy to persuade before, especially by his brother. And when Prince Kalmaar realized that he wasn’t going to persuade Benthomaar on his side as he always did, his expression twisted. Anger. That was all Lloyd saw,  “Get. Out. Of. My. Way! ” Prince Kalmaar yelled, holding his spear high.  

    Lloyd flinched, that’s he noticed that Prince Kalmaar was not alone, with him were two others. They held spears, but they didn’t look as pretty as Prince Kalmaar’s, Lloyd assumed that his was custom-made. He wouldn’t doubt it, he is a prince after all. 

    The two had the face of a serpentine, yet, they weren’t serpentine in a way. Maybe on the family tree, but, Lloyd knew they weren’t. The serpentine was banished, never to see the light again. It would be impossible for the serpentine to escape unless someone so desperate for revenge and stupid enough to release them and gave them the pleasure to feel the sun on their scales. 

    “NO!” Benthomaar shouted, “He is my friend! I won’t let you hurt him!” Benthomaar said. Lloyd smiled, he was glad to have Benthomaar as his friend. Prince Kalmaar scoffed, “So you would rather obey the command of someone you’ve barely met rather than your brother who’d known you almost your entire life?” Prince Kalmaar asked. 

Lloyd knew what he was doing, “He’s only manipulating you!” He quickly said, but, it was as if Benthomaar didn’t hear him.  

    Benthomaar looked to the side to avoid his brother’s gaze, he didn’t move. He knew that his brother would kill his friend if he did. Prince Kalmaar groaned, “Just move!” he pushed Benthomaar onto the sand, and Benthomaar became wide-eyed. Lloyd gasped, he couldn’t move. It was as if he had been paralyzed. 

    Come on! Move! He thought. Yet, nothing worked. He knew he was going to die. 

    He tightly shut his eyes, he didn’t want to see him. Out of sight, out of mind. 

    “It’s time to get rid of you once and for all! ” Lloyd heard, he knew then that Prince Kalmaar raised his spear, ready to kill him. Lloyd breathed in, trying to prepare himself for the hellish feeling he was about to feel. 

    He heard a yell, but it wasn’t from him. He didn’t dare open his eyes, in fear that he’ll find a spear in his chest. But, there wasn’t any… pain. Lloyd was confused. What happened? He didn’t understand. 

    Thud. 

    Lloyd heard, he knew someone was now on the sand. The question was, who? Lloyd knew it wasn’t him. Was it Benthomaar? He hoped not. He opened his eyes out of impulse. His curiosity was stronger than his fear.

 He let out a gasp at what lay in front of him, his legs curled up to his chest. The sight he saw was not a pretty one. It was Prince Kalmaar, laying on the ground. Blue was all over the ground, Lloyd almost forget they bled blue. Lloyd’s stomach grew knotted quickly, he felt as though he was going to hurl. 

It was a shame, the color, it was so pretty. Yet, so dangerous, for it meant that you were hurt enough that skin was torn. The color wasn’t some alien blue you would see in some movies, no, it was a beautiful sea blue, a color you would see in painting in art museums. 

    He looked up, finding his new friend, Benthomaar. But, he didn’t look himself. He held a spear in his hands. The blade carried blue, it dripped onto the ground. The not-serpentine were gone, leaving no trace that they were there in the first place, Lloyd guessed they had run after seeing the prince being stabbed.

    Some henchmen they are. Weren’t they supposed to protect their prince? Lloyd wondered before criticizing himself. Now is not the time to think that!  

    Lloyd slowly got on his feet, about to walk to his friend. Benthomaar suddenly fell to his knees. Lloyd ran up to him, “Benthomaar!” He exclaimed, falling onto his knees himself to get to be able to look at Benthomaar. Benthomaar was breathing heavily and his eyes were wide, “I killed him. I killed my brother.” He repeated over and over, holding his brother’s spear in his hands. Lloyd guessed that after being thrown on the sand, Benthomaar grabbed Prince Kalmaar’s spear and stabbed him. 

Lloyd highly doubted he meant to kill him. 

    Lloyd bit his bottom lip, trying to find a way to comfort him. But, he didn’t know how to. He just loomed over Benthomaar, uselessly. He looked around, as if would give him the inspiration to help his friend. 

    But it didn’t . 

    Of course, it wouldn’t. Why would it?

    He shook his shoulder, just as an experiment. Benthomaar instantly turned to him. His eyes widened, and blood was spattered on his cheek. Benthomaar looked crazed. It made Lloyd flinch. Benthomaar looked at him, Lloyd was scared that he might try to kill him next since it was sorta his fault for Benthomaar killing him. He wouldn’t doubt Benthomaar would try to kill him next, he seemed to care for his brother a lot. 

    But instead, Lloyd was pulled into a tight hug. He could barely breathe is how tight it was. He could hear hiccups and sobs, he knew then that Benthomaar was crying. Lloyd didn’t push him away. He rubbed his back. Benthomaar’s back felt weird. Similar to shark skin. Lloyd didn’t know what else to expect. 

    “It’s okay, you’re okay,” Lloyd said, trying his best to comfort his friend. Though, he knew they couldn’t stay there. They needed to go before more non-serpentine came. Lloyd didn’t want to imagine what would happen to the both of them if they were caught by Prince Kalmaar’s already decaying body. 

    “I couldn’t let him kill you. I just couldn’t.” Benthomaar whispered, though, Lloyd felt as though he was talking to himself rather than to him. But, Lloyd knew that if they stayed here, he would be killed either way. Benthomaar would be right next to him, which was the only difference. Lloyd didn’t want Benthomaar to die. 

    “Come on, we need to leave,” Lloyd said, speaking his thoughts, leaving the hug that Benthomaar encased him in. Lloyd suppressed holding his chest off his arm, his ribs hurt so fucking much. Lloyd hissed. Benthomaar rubbed his eyes, yet he didn’t move a single muscle. Lloyd pushed him, “We need to leave, now!” He repeated, trying to get the idea through Benthomaar’s head that they might be killed next. Lloyd didn’t want to die. Not now, he still needed to talk to his master.

    Benthomaar nodded slowly. He got up to his feet. He still held the spear in his hands, as if they had been glued together. Lloyd grabbed his other hand, trying to lead him out of the scene. Benthomaar used the spear like a cane as if he needed help to walk. Lloyd decided to make no comment on it. His stomach felt queasy. Lloyd knew that Benthomaar felt the same.

    Lloyd quickened their pace as much as he could. Though, seeing as he was leading a now traumatized teenager and the fact that Lloyd was running on just a few hours of sleep, it wasn’t easy. All Lloyd knew was that they needed to get out of there. 

    But one question remained… where would they go? Who would help them?

    What about Ronin? He thought, Maybe we could go there.

    But, even then, he didn’t know where they are in general. He and his master used Travelers Tea, which meant they could be anywhere in Ninjago. Lloyd sighed, he’ll figure it out somehow. He always did, somewhat. 

    __

    Sensei Wu didn’t know what to do. Which was strange, he was a very strict and mannered figure who kept everything organized. But, with the sighting with Morro . It shook Sensei Wu to the core. 

    He was alive, after all these years, he was alive . 

    He sighed, he still hasn’t told his other students about the mysterious figure. He didn’t want to tell them. He didn’t want to tell them how he had failed his previous student and then swept him under the rug.  

    Sensei Wu took another sip of his tea, he knew that this conversation was going to have to be spoken about sooner or later. What can be done today shouldn’t be put off for tomorrow. He always said this to his students, yet, he himself didn’t follow it? Absurd. He stroked his beard in thought. 

    He wondered what they would say. He knew that Jay would have the most shocked expression, and maybe Kai would have that furious look on his face. The same one when he found out that this mysterious figure knocked out his sister. 

    Sensei Wu remembered the expression that Kai had when he found his sister knocked out on the floor. Fear and anger. He couldn’t blame him, Kai became the sole parental figure to his sister after Maya and Ray suddenly vanished. 

    Then there was Jay. Shock mixed with anger, not as much as Kai, but there was some. Sensei Wu knew that some… romantic feelings brewed between Jay and Nya, and he wanted no part in it. He put his love life far past behind him.

    Nya herself was angry that she was bested. Sensei Wu knew that she beat herself up for it. She needed to learn that in order to succeed, there must be a loss. He knew that he was going to have to teach that to her or she will never learn. 

    Sensei Wu stood up, decided to call it a day with his precious scrolls, and walked to the room where the ninja ate. It was late in the morning. And as per usual, it was Zane’s turn to cook today. Sensei Wu always looked forward to Zane’s cooking, he knew that his students felt the same. The ninja waited for Zane to finish cooking, though he was a good cook, it took some patience to wait for the food to be ready. 

    “When’s the food gonna be ready?” Cole asked, unaware that his sensei just walked into the room, “I’m starving!” Cole finished saying, slamming down his fork on the table. Kai hummed in agreement. Nya just sighed, too used to their shenanigans to care.

    Sensei Wu sat down in his usual place. He watched and listened to his students. Though, they still were unaware of his presence. Sensei Wu didn’t blame them, he was a master ninja after all. 

    Zane entered the room carrying plates. Sensei Wu sipped on his tea as Zane put the plates down. Zane looked at Sensei Wu and sat down. 

    That's when the ninja realized that their sensei was in the room with them. It became silent then as if Sensei Wu was supposed to talk but he didn’t. He decided not to. It soon became awkward. He could tell what the ninjas were thinking, it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. 

    Zane decided to talk first, “Sensei, please tell us, who was that person?” He asked. Sensei Wu sighed, “I have told you before, you mustn’t worry of it.” He said, sipping his tea afterward, keeping a calm expression.

Kai slammed his fork down on the table, “That guy , who you tell us not to worry about, stole our golden weapons! Can’t you, for this once, be less secretive?” Kai asked, looking at his sensei, an angered expression on his face. Yet, Sensei Wu didn’t falter. Kai’s expression twisted into more anger, honestly, Sensei Wu didn’t know someone could even get that angry, “For god’s sake, he knocked out my sister!” Kai said, pointing to his sister who had her arms crossed, an eyebrow raised. 

    Sensei Wu took another sip of his tea. Should he tell them about Morro? What would they say, what would they think of him afterward? He sighed, he shouldn’t be worried about this. He knew he had to tell them. He could only imagine the effects that it would have if he doesn’t tell them. It would cause drift his relationship with his students apart, replacing it with anger and mistrust. 

    Sensei Wu did not want that.

    The ninjas looked at him expectantly. Sensei Wu took another sip of his tea before placing his teacup on the table. He clasped his hands together, “Fine.” He started, “Let me tell you the story of my first student, my son, Morro. The Master of Wind.” 

Chapter Text

    “Wait what?” Cole asked first, a confused expression on his face. Sensei Wu knew what was coming next. With the one thousand questions, his students have Sensei Wu knew that he just had to be mentally prepared. 

    “YOU HAVE A SON?!” Jay then exclaimed next, waving his hands around, seeming to try to make it more apparent that, in all of the years he was alive, Sensei Wu has a son, “What do you mean your first student? Does that mean you’ve had students before us?” Zane asked next, his head tilted to the side, “Are there other elemental masters? I’ve never heard of a master of wind!” Kai said next, “And what kind of element is wind?” He added, scoffing. Sensei Wu just decided to ignore it.  

    “ARE WE JUST IGNORING THE FACT THAT OUR SENSEI HAS A SON???” Jay asked, holding his head with his scarred hands. 

    “What about Lloyd? He seemed to be conspiring with Morro,” Zane put his hand on his chin. Sensei Wu knew it was definitely plausible. Though, he didn’t want to think about that now. 

    “What about him being a literal elemental master, guys? That’s important too!” Kai said next as if the other ninjas didn’t have their own questions. 

    Sensei Wu waited and waited and waited for the room to quiet down. But, it didn’t quiet down. Fortonualy, Sensei Wu has a lot of patience. Eventually, one ninja caught his silence and then hushed the others, “Go ahead, sensei. We’re listening,” Zane pipped up, letting Sensei Wu continue. 

    Sensei Wu silently praised Zane as he continued, “Morro isn’t my biological child. I took him when he was young, he rarely even called me father back then.” Sensei Wu said, retelling his past. He could hear Jay sigh in relief. That boy is going to be the death of me. He thought, side-eyeing Jay.

    “At the time, my brother was away. I lived alone,” Sensei Wu told them, “But why? Why wasn’t Lord Garmadon with you?” Zane asked, but, Sensei Wu only shook his head, “That’s not the point of this story, now is it?” he asked, a smug smile on his face. 

    “But anyway,” Sensei Wu quickly said before any other comments were made, “I found Morro rummaging through my trash, I assumed that he was looking for something to eat. He was only a child then,” Sensei Wu took a sip of tea before continuing. He didn’t want the others to interrupt him, “I gave him food. Well, I put food outside the monastery walls. Morro refused to come in, he refused to even tell me his name. Though, it was a smart move. You can do many things when you learn a name,” He said, “So you basically gave him food like a stray cat?” Jay asked, shrugging his arms, “I supposed so,” Sensei Wu stroked his beard. 

    He guessed Morro was similar to a cat in a way…

    Though, he highly doubted Morro would be very pleased to find out that comment was made about him.

    “Eventually, Morro started to trust me. He walked inside the monastery walls, started to eat meals with me, and helped me with chores around the house,” He glared at the ninjas, except Zane. Kai crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, Cole just pretended he didn’t hear anything and kept his smile, and Jay just looked to the side, trying to hide his shame. 

    Sensei Wu sighed, he knew he was never going to break them. He continued, “At the time, I was debating on starting a school to teach people self-defense and basic education. Not a lot of kids could have that, so I wanted to help as much as I could,” He said. Even before the Serpentine War, back then, even having something as simple as a book could classify you as rich, “I asked Morro to be my first student. He hesitated but said yes eventually,” Sensei Wu took a sip of tea, “At the time, I didn’t know he was an elemental master,” 

    “When I found out, I was astonished. I told him of a prophecied destiny, and made him believe it to be granted.” Sensei Wu looked at his tea, watching it swirl around when he picked up the cup, “I was such a fool back then,” 

    “Morro started to train himself harder, to make himself ‘worthy’, in his definition at least.” Sensei Wu said, “Wait. Hold on, isn’t training hard a good thing, sensei?” Kai asked, “You don’t understand. He would train until he passed out, he considered sleeping a weak thing. To him, there was no such thing as taking a break.” Sensei Wu told them, he saw a few winces here and there, “He was only a child. When I took you all as students to train, you were all at least old enough to take care of yourselves,” His students gave him an odd look, mostly of doubtfulness.

    Sensei Wu sighed, “Yes, he could take care of himself just fine. But he was still a child ,” He took another sip of his tea, “I remember he once told me that the reason why he trained so hard was that he thought it was his purpose . He said he was meant to fight,” 

    Sensei Wu looked down solemnly, taking a pause, “Destiny showed that he wasn’t the chosen one. Yet, he stayed persistent. He continued to train, saying that he’ll work harder. He completely dismissed his education to focus on getting stronger,” 

    “What did you tell him, sensei?” Jay asked, basically on the edge of his seat. Sensei Wu knew he wasn’t the only one. 

    “I told him that destiny chose their answer,” Sensei Wu told them, staring into his tea. 

     “Well, destiny just chose wrong!” Morro said in a haze. He threw the green gi, which was only suited for the Green Ninja, onto the wooden floor, “Morro, you cannot change destiny. It is impossible,” Wu told him, looking down at his tea, watching it swirl when he moved the teacup. He looked back up to Morro. He made a mistake. He wished he could fix it, but the damage was irreversible, “My son, I’m sorry . I made a mistake,” He admitted. It was the least he could do. 

     Morro shook his head, “No! I just- I just have to try harder! I want to be worthy, I need to be worthy–I need this, dad ,” Morro’s voice tightened. Wu kneeled down and put his hand on his shoulder, “The world isn’t fair my son,” He said, pulling Morro into a hug, wanting to comfort him. 

     Yet, Morro pushed him away, “I can change destiny! I promise I’m not weak. I am not a failure! I will not fail you!” He yelled, backing up. Wu looked at him solemnly, “Morro, you didn’t fail me. I failed you ,” Wu told him, looking at Morro’s sad eyes. He wondered what father would think of this. 

     Have faith . That’s what he would say, but, where did faith lead him to?

     Morro shook his head, “I can be worthy . It’s my only purpose! I NEED TO BE WORTHY!” Morro yelled with heavy breaths. He paused for a moment, Wu could tell he was thinking. But of what? 

     Morro ran out of the room, “Morro wait!” Wu quickly shouted, but it was too late. Wu followed him, but, Morro was already gone. 

      “Sensei?” Sensei Wu heard, “Sensei, you good there?” He looked up to find the present, “You kinda zoned out on us, we kinda got worried there,” Cole said, a half-smile on his face. Sensei Wu nodded, “I am fine, only thinking of the past,” He said. 

__

      Morro didn’t know where to go. He had the golden weapons, yet, he felt like he had nothing . He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this alone. He didn’t know what to do. He doubled checked everything. He couldn’t have missed anything! Right? 

     Maybe just one more check couldn’t hurt, right? Morro tried to get up, tried to go and look for Lloyd. But, he couldn’t. That’s when he realized how fucking tired he was. Morro remembered then that he hadn’t slept at all since Lloyd ran off. He sighed. 

     Why was finding Lloyd so damn hard? He even summoned his elemental dragon, but, the trees were too dense. Morro cursed the spot the Travelers Tea transported them to. It was just his luck. If Ronin was here, he would’ve known where they were. But, he wasn’t. 

      Morro couldn’t just go find help either. He just stole the golden weapons from his sensei, he called Misako a sorry excuse for a mother, and Ronin… well, he was Ronin. He knew he wouldn’t help him unless he had money and he wasn’t handing him the golden weapons. 

      They were too important no matter how much Morro can curse them out. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, trying to think. Yet, his brain was just in a fogged state it was hard to even do that.

    But, he knew he couldn’t afford to take a break. But, what else could he do? He couldn’t just leave Lloyd! God knows what kind of trouble he could get himself into! Yet, every time Morro thought over his options came nothing.

    Nothing… That’s what his options were. Seriously?

    No. 

    No. 

    Morro refused to do nothing, he refused to be useless. He got up to his feet, he knew what he needed to do. He needed to go back to his father, Sensei Wu. No matter how bad it might be, no matter how much his sensei disappointed was, Morro refused to lose Lloyd. 

    He picked up the golden weapons and put them in the bag. 

    Morro took a deep breath, the wind breezing through his hair. It was time to go back to the monastery. But first, he needed to sleep, and take a rest. He lay on the cold, rocky, ground. It was so damn uncomfortable but Morro didn’t care. 

    He closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep. 

Chapter Text

    Morro didn’t know where he was. Well, he did. He was in some cave. But why was he here? He sat up, rubbing his eyes, looking out the cave. 

It was raining outside. No, it was pouring . Morro couldn’t remember the last time it rained this hard. But, that wasn’t what concerned him. He tilted his head to the side. Wasn’t I just with…? He thought. 

    No. No.

    He remembered now. 

    He had just run away from Sensei Wu so he can prove he was the Green Ninja. Morro bit his bottom lip, he didn’t know what to do now. He knew that he had to prove himself, but how? He needed to defy destiny. But defying destiny isn’t just some walk in the park! 

    He sighed, hugging his legs. He realized then how cold it was. He buried his face in his knees, shivering. He was so damn cold, he hated it. And, for some reason, his heart raced. Morro didn’t know why. He didn’t feel scared, so what could it be? 

    Probably from the cold. He thought, looking to the side. He hoped that he wouldn’t get sick or even die from the cold.

    Pitter-patter

    Morro listened to the sound of the rain, hoping it would distract his mind from thinking his body is cold. It helped him to calm down. His heart calmed down as well, Morro could no longer hear it, but he could feel his heart beating. Which is a good thing, it meant he was alive . 

    Morro crawled to the back of the cave, it was warmer than where he was before. Still cold though. He thought, rubbing his nose. 

    He tried thinking of a plan. But, no matter how hard he tried, nothing worked. He needed sources, he needed allies . Someone that he could use, someone that he could trust. Well, somewhat at least. 

    Morro didn’t know how long time passed. It just kept pouring. His back hurt from slouching over for this long, so he assumed that a couple of hours have passed. He groaned, so much time wasted and for nothing. 

    He straightened his back. Pop . He heard. Morro sighed, stretching his other limbs while sitting down. He wondered what his sensei was doing right now. 

    Probably reading his stupid scrolls . He thought, smiling. He loves those damn scrolls of his. 

    The sudden thought came.

    He’s probably waiting for me to come back. 

    The image of Sensei Wu standing outside of the monastery, being poured on, waiting for him to come back. Morro frowned, he couldn’t go back now, he refused to be a failure. He needed to be worthy for sensei and… himself. 

    What was he without strength? 

    “Are you just gonna keep thinking to yourself like that? You do realize you look crazy, right?” A sudden voice said. Morro instantly turned towards the voice. A guy, not much older than himself, had brown hair and a red straw hat. 

    Morro scrunched his nose up and furrowed his eyebrows together. He didn’t hear this guy come in at all. It confused him. Morro put a hand on the handle of his katana, getting ready to fight. 

    He was about to stand up as well but the guy stopped him. 

    “Oh sorry.” The guy said with a smile, Morro knew instantly that this guy is just some weasel. He could tell, it was always the tone. The tone gave them away. The guy walked up to Morro and sat down in front of him. He held out his hand, “Name’s Ronin,” Ronin said, “You?” 

    Morro hesitated, he knew it wasn’t wise to give out your name just like that. Ronin needed to gain his trust and he certainly didn’t have it, “Come on, I don’t bite!” Ronin said, a smug smile on his face. Morro just rolled his eyes, “Okay, then,” Ronin paused, “Your name is just gonna be Stranger or somethin’,” Ronin shrugged, “Never been good with name, you know?” Morro just glared at him. 

    What kind of name is Stranger? He thought, resisting the urge to scoff. 

    “You mute, Stranger?” Ronin asked, taking his hand away. Morro sighed in annoyance, he hated being questioned, and Ronin was certainly pushing his buttons, “Are you just going to keep nagging me with your questions?” Morro asked, putting his hand on the ground, and leaning on his arm to give him support. Though, he still kept one hand on his katana. He wanted to show that he didn’t think very highly of Ronin. 

    “Oh, so you do talk!” Ronin said, pointing at Morro. Morro just scoffed, rolling his eyes. Do I seriously have to deal with someone like this? He wondered. 

    There was a pause of silence. 

    “Okay, so you do talk, but you just aren’t that much of a talker, gotcha, “ Ronin said after a while, “So what’s someone like you doing in a cave like this, Stranger?” Ronin asked, raising an eyebrow, “What do you mean?” Morro asked next, “You know, in a cave. I mean, aren’t ya rich or somethin’?” Ronin asked. Morro knew what he was talking about. It was because of the clothing he was wearing. Sensei Wu personally gave him it so, of course, he would look out of place. 

    “No,” Morro said, trying to think of a good lie, “I- I stole these.” Good job Morro, way to go. He thought sarcastically. He could lie, he didn’t know why it seemed so unbelievable. Maybe it’s the time he spent with Sensei Wu. Ronin paused, seeming to think. Then he smiled, “Well, good find! Don’t ya think?” He asked, “Too bad it’s mine now,” Ronin’s expression changed to a serious one. 

    Morro instantly got up, ready to fight, “I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” Ronin said quickly, getting up himself, “Look, I don’t care if you’re rich or poor. All I need to know is if you can fight or not,” Ronin asked, a smile on his face.  

    Morro stared at him, nonverbally telling him to go on. Ronin sighed, putting a hand on his hip, “Look, kid,” Morro ignored the kid part, “I can tell that you’re in some sticky situation that you just can’t go home after right?” Ronin put his hands out, seeming to try to persuade Morro. 

    Morro paused before nodding, “Well, I can help you! And, you can help me!” Ronin said next, seeming confident. Morro scoffed, “I don’t need your help,” He said, “I don’t need anyone's help!” Morro told him, “Are you just saying that because you don’t need help, or are you saying that because you don’t want help?” Ronin asked, raising an eyebrow. 

    Morro paused. I do need someone to help me, but, how will Ronin help me? He’s just some damn weasel! He thought, gritting his teeth. Suddenly a thought came. You were once like that, right?  

    Morro paused, thinking it over for a moment. 

    He sighed, “Tell me, do you know how to defy destiny?” He asked, not having much hope that Ronin will have an answer. Ronin shrugged, “Not exactly,” Morro glared at him, “BUT! I might have something that might help you,” He said, “It’ll cost you though,” 

    “I guess you don’t need my help then,” Morro said about to turn around, “Fine fine!” Ronin said quickly before Morro left the conversation, “The First Spinjitzu Master’s grave is said to have this treasure that can change destiny itself,” Ronin said, “But, no one has ever been able to find it so,” 

    Morro pondered over it for a moment, it could be his only chance in being the Green Ninja. He couldn’t let that go, “And, how will I be able to find it?” Morro asked, crossing his arms, “Well, there's said to be a couple of hints here and there about where it is,” Ronin said. 

    Morro smiled, “What do you want me to help you with?” He asked. Ronin grinned, “Well, let’s say that a have some debts to repay…” 

    __

    Morro woke up very slowly. Though he wanted to wake up completely, both his mind and body decided to take their precious time. Morro’s body was sore, it was annoying. Though, what else could he expect after sleeping in a cave? He sighed. 

    God , he had a really strange dream. It was of his past. He wondered why he would dream of the past. Maybe it’s because he was returning to someone he knew from the past? Morro shook his head, it was a waste of time to think of these things. 

    He sat up, rubbing his eyes awake. He needed to be wide awake to go to the monastery. He didn’t want to be drowsy the entire way! Though, he would probably be wide awake by then. But even then.

To be early is to be on time.  

    He got up, stretched a bit, and grabbed the duffle bag, ready to head out. 

    Morro looked out of the cave, it was late in the night. He could see the stars and the moon. Though, there was no trace of daylight. It made him wonder how long he was asleep. That doesn’t matter now. He thought, walking out of the cave. He could feel the wind, it carried the feeling of determination. 

    He closed his eyes and focused. The wind whistled, then a sudden strong breeze came through. 

    He opened his eyes, finding his elemental dragon. It shimmered in the moonlight, who knew something so evil can be so beautiful? But the question remained, was Morro truly evil? 

Morro sighed. It didn’t matter. Morro hopped on his dragon, flying up to the sky. Who knew that he needed his dragon again so soon? The wings flapped, creating more wind. Morro loved it, he loved the feeling of the wind. He could also tell he was stronger the more wind he felt. He remembered his sensei saying something about that. 

    Morro looked around his surroundings. He ah-ed, he wasn’t far from Ninjago City, which is good. He might be able to reach the monastery in a few days if he hurries. It took him and Lloyd about a week when they were injured and walking on foot. 

    He could make it in a few hours if he hurries. 

    Morro tied his hair back, so his hair won’t be in his way while he flew. He raised the chain reins and then… paused. He caught something in the corner of his eye. He didn’t know why it got his attention but it did. 

    He directed his dragon to it, flying over to the thing. It was on a beach, but other than that, Morro couldn’t tell anything else, he was too far away to tell. Even when he grew closer, he didn’t know what the hell it was. 

    He landed on the sand. He hopped off and the moment he did, the dragon faded into the wind. Morro will summon it in just a second he needed to know what the hell…

    Well, shit . He thought. 

    His face dropped, but he kept his posture. There was blue blood splattered all around the beach. Morro knew something went down here. But that wasn’t what he was concerned about, he knew the blue blood belonged to Prince Kalmaar.

Morro put his hand on his chin and wondered, what the hell could’ve happened to this guy? He frowned. 

    He knew it had something to do with Lloyd. 

    It only made him more concerned. Whatever Lloyd got himself into was a major problem. It only gave more reasons why Morro should head to the monastery. 

    Morro summoned his dragon once more. He needed to leave now . He needed to go find Sensei Wu and ask- no. He needs to help them. Lloyd is Sensei Wu’s nephew so hopefully, he is more than willing to help. 

    Morro will have his way sooner or later, he knows it. 

    He directed his dragon to the monastery. He could feel the strong winds around, it felt nice. It helped him to get there faster. When he looked below, everything went by like a blur. Though, he didn’t pay any attention to those things. They weren't important. Lloyd was important. He needed to save him from whatever hell he got himself into. 

    Morro sighed, tightening his grip on the bag. He only hoped that his student was okay . That boy had a habit of getting in trouble, it worried Morro. 

    “He’s the Green Ninja, you know?” Morro heard, and he knew it wasn’t his voice, It was… somebody else's. He didn’t dare stop flying, he couldn’t let this voice trouble him. 

    “Why care for somebody who took your title? It was yours. You had earned it. What did he do? He did nothing to be worthy” The voice said, “Lloyd is a child ,” Morro told the voice, “It doesn’t matter.” 

    “A CHILD TOOK YOUR TITLE!” The voice told him, seeming to try to get a rise out of him, “Shouldn’t you be angry? SHOULDN’T YOU BE FURIOUS?” The voice yelled. Morro covered one of his ears, but he still kept a hand on the chain reins. He could feel the blood coming out of his ears, “You will not anger me, you’re just wasting your time.” He said. 

    The voice stopped talking. Morro hoped that would be the last he heard of it, but, he knew better than to hope.  

    Some hours later he could see the monastery. 

He smiled, he knew he would’ve gotten here if he hurried and he was right. Morro loved being right. It gave him this satisfaction that he oh-so enjoyed. 

It was still dark. The stars shimmered with the moon, making a beautiful scene. He scoffed, more important things mattered. He landed in the same spot he did when he first snuck in there. It was dead silent. 

    Morro hopped over the wall, the bag over his shoulder. 

    He walked in as if he hasn’t done a robbery there not even a few days ago. Though, the monastery seemed as dead as a ghost town. Morro could tell there were residents in the monastery, it hadn’t been abandoned. 

    He walked the hallway. Light shimmered underneath a door. Morro knew the room. It was his sensei’s room. He knew then that his sensei was still awake. Morro couldn’t complain, it was better than having to wake him up and awaken the entire house. 

    Morro slowly opened the slider door. It made no noise, but, Morro knew his sensei knew that he was there. His sensei sat in the middle of the room, his back against Morro, “Who’s there?” Sensei Wu asked. Morro could see that he was doing something, probably setting tea or reading some scroll, as always. 

    Morro smiled, some things didn’t change after all, “What?” He started. Sensei Wu turned that instant, “You can’t recognize your son’s voice after all this time?” Morro said, walking next to Sensei Wu, “Old age getting to you?” He asked, dropping the bag. 

    Sensei Wu seemed to be confused, “Morro, what are you doing here?” He asked, lowering a cup he was drinking. Morro sat in front of his sensei, a serious expression on his face, “We need to talk about Lloyd.”

Chapter Text

    Lloyd didn’t know how much time had passed. Hours. Days. He couldn’t tell. He just felt like time was passing as it was if it would be a dream. Well, it felt more like a massive nightmare. Lloyd just wished he woke up now. He hated this dream. He just wanted to wake up . He wanted to wake up on his stupid bed that was covered in fire ants. He wanted to yell and cry about how it hurt. Gene would make fun of him and make the other kids laugh at him. Brad… Brad might feel bad. Lloyd didn’t know what he was thinking, like, ever. 

He might get some type of timeout or detention. God , he hated detention. But, now, that’s all he wanted. He wanted to go back to those days. Those days when he could go to class, and sure, he would get bullied, but would it matter? All he wanted was to wake up. He just didn’t want to be here anymore.  

    Suddenly, he felt a pinch on his cheek. 

    “Ow!” Lloyd exclaimed, rubbing his cheek. He looked up, trying to find the culprit, and found his friend, Benthomaar. Lloyd huffed in annoyance. He couldn’t just pinch his friend back, because- well! Benthomaar is his friend! You wouldn’t hurt a friend, would you?

    “Why’d you do that?” Lloyd asked, still rubbing his cheek. It stung. Benthomaar scratched the back of his hair, “Ah, sorry,” He said, “You just said that you felt like this was a dream and stuff so…” Benthomaar said sheepishly, trying to excuse the fact that he pinched Lloyd’s cheek.

Then Lloyd realized.  

    “I was talking out loud?” Lloyd asked, slowly turning red. He didn’t realize he was speaking his thoughts. It made him wonder if he always talked out loud. God , that was embarrassing! Lloyd scratched his cheek, trying to ignore the pain. He knew why Benthomaar pinched his cheek then, it was to tell him that this wasn’t a dream. 

    Benthomaar threw up his hands, “Hey! Hey! It’s okay!” He said, trying to calm Lloyd so he became something that looks less like a tomato. Lloyd grumbled, still red. He shook his head, trying not to think about it. He thought of different things. 

    He thought of the scenery around him. There was a lot of mud and dripping water from trees and leaves. It wasn’t too long ago that it had rained. It was also humid but, somewhat cold. Lloyd wasn’t shivering, but he was glad he had his hoodie with him. He traced the stitches with his hand. It had been poorly stitched together on the spot where Lloyd got… injured. But, he didn’t care. His master did this for him, so he was happy. 

    Lloyd looked at the night sky, he could see the stars and the crescent moon. The moon was the only way they could see where they were going.

    They were walking, though, they had never stopped in the first place. Benthomaar calmed himself a bit, but he was still fidgety. He looked over his shoulder at times, looking around, as if he was paranoid. He kept a hand on the spear as well, as if it was some sort of mystical treasure. Lloyd knew better though.  

    It worried Lloyd. 

    The golden tint the blade had with the dried blue blood made a beautiful contrast. Lloyd hated it. He didn’t want a constant reminder of what happened not even a day before. It just- he couldn’t . Lloyd didn’t dare to try to think of it. To think of Prince Kalmaar. 

    Lloyd crossed his arms, trying to look tough. His master always looked tough . He was strong and cold. Lloyd needed to be strong and cold. But, how could he? He was just too soft. No matter how much people tried, he would just be a big softy. 

    He looked up at Benthomaar again. What was it like? He wondered, staring at Benthomaar’s eyes, they were a sky type of blue, Lloyd figured, with a slanted pupil in it. It was kinda weird, a pupil in a pupil.

What was it like being Prince Kalmaar’s brother? He thought, but not dared to say it out loud. He could only imagine how to was like. But even then, did Lloyd even know how Prince Kalmaar acted? He could’ve been the nicest guy around once you got to know him. Or maybe, a tough guy who been through too much. Lloyd didn’t want to know. He didn’t want to know if Prince Kalmaar had ever gotten nightmares, or if he was happy, or angry. He didn’t want to care. 

    Benthomaar ignored his stare. Lloyd silently sighed, looking at the dirt, keeping his head down. He couldn’t think of it, he wouldn’t allow himself to. 

    They walked for a while, not daring to say a word to each other. Maybe it was because of awkwardness or fear. Lloyd really didn’t know. He… didn’t want to know. He didn’t want to think of the fact that he can never go back from this. He didn’t want to think of the fact that his life would never be the same. And, not only his but his friend! Benthomaar didn’t deserve this. He may have… killed him. But, in the end, it was Lloyd’s fault, not Benthomaar’s. If Benthomaar never met Lloyd, none of this would’ve happened! 

    Lloyd hiccuped. He hoped it was just one, but then another came. He covered his face, he knew that he was crying. God , he was so fucking starved for attention that he cried. How could he be so damn selfish? He hated it. He didn’t want the attention. He just wished it would all go away! 

 “What’s wrong?” Benthomaar asked. Lloyd couldn’t see his face, but he knew that he was concerned. He hadn’t been with him for very long but he knew some things, at least. Benthomaar was the type to care for his friends more than anything. Lloyd knew that. It just made him feel worse.

    Lloyd shook his head, “I-” His voice sounded small. He hated it. He hated the fact that he was so weak. He hated the fact that he always needed help. He just wanted to be strong . He wanted to be able to protect himself, he wanted to protect other people. It's just- it’s just wasn’t fair !

“I’m fine! I don’t… I don’t know why I’m crying!” He said, rubbing his eyes, trying to reassure Benthomaar. Maybe, he was trying to reassure himself too. 

    Benthomaar put his hand on Lloyd’s shoulder, he didn’t squeeze it, he just laid it there. Maybe he was trying to comfort Lloyd, or comfort himself. All Lloyd could think of was, How could he not hate me? He pulled Benthomaar into a tight hug. I ruined his entire fucking life, how could he not hate me? He thought over and over, but he didn’t find an answer. Maybe, there was no answer.

    Benthomaar picked him up with just one arm. Lloyd leaned against him and sobbed. Benthomaar started to walk again, using his brother’s spear- No. His spear as a support to help him walk. 

    “I’m sorry, Bentho…” Lloyd sobbed, “I’m so sorry.” He sniffled. Benthomaar stroked his hair, “Why are you apologizing?” He asked, Lloyd could feel his fingers separating his hair into individual strands. It made him feel better. It always did. Lloyd sighed and hiccupped right after, “I’m sorry.” He repeated, not daring to tell Benthomaar the reason why he was apologizing so much. His voice was less little, more… out there. 

Lloyd tried to wipe his tears away before realizing it would be pointless. He hated this. He looked up to the night sky, he wondered what his master was doing.   

    ___

    “What has my nephew gotten himself into?” Sensei Wu asked, setting down his tea. Morro sighed, “Something irreversible, I believe.” He said, thinking back to the scene he found on that beach, “Not too long ago, I fought the prince of the endless sea,” Sensei Wu’s eyes widened, looking at Morro as if he done something wrong, “We’re at peace with them, Morro,” He said, in a scolding voice. 

    Morro looked right at his sensei, almost offended that his sensei would think that he would start an entire war. Morro isn’t stupid, “That’s what I thought too, but, this prince had a vendetta toward humans in general. Saying that the humans stole his ancestor’s land.” Morro said, waving his hand around and rolling his eyes. Sensei Wu could hear an annoyed whistle of wind in the monastery, he had forgotten how much he missed the wind around. 

    It was only a reminder that it had been too long since Morro was last here. 

    “But, when I was about to fly here, I spotted the blood of that said prince. I know it had something to do with Lloyd,” Morro told him. Sensei Wu looked at him in a peculiar way, “Did you two not land in the same area?” He asked. Morro’s heart raced but he didn’t show any panic on his face, “Yes, we didn’t land in the exact same spot. I looked for Lloyd all over but I could not find him,” Morro told him, keeping his composure. 

    Sensei Wu looked at him with a strange look for a while before sighing, “Tell me, what is your connection to my nephew?” He asked, looking down at his tea. He picked up the tea and watched it swirl in the cup, “I took him as a student, that’s all you need to know,” Morro informed. 

    Sensei Wu took a sip of his tea, “I won’t pester you further. If you’re the same Morro that I remember, then it would be pointless to ask you,” Sensei Wu said. Morro knew that he was just calling him stubborn but he ignored it. It was pointless to get offended now, more important matter were needed to be tended to.

    “But that isn’t the point. The point is that Lloyd is in danger.” Morro said. Sensei Wu hummed, acknowledging what Morro was saying to him, “I can have my ninja help you.” He said, “I… I can help you as well if you would like,” He added. Morro sighed, “Unfortunatly, that would cause some issues.”

Sensei Wu frowned, saddned. Morro shook his head, “It’s not you who will cause issues, sensei. It’s your other students, they’re out of shape. They’re rusty.” He said, looking at his sensei in his eyes. 

“Look, you either push them to their limits, or I do. You have a choice here, sensei. You weren’t always this soft ,” Morro said, remembering the time where Sensei Wu trained him one on one. It wasn’t pretty, but it helped Morro that way. 

Sensei Wu took another sip of his tea, “Morro, that was because you were different . Not everyone is the same,” He said. Morro scoffed, “It’s not about that and you know it. You’re just scared.” Morro said. 

Sensei Wu looked at him, a mixture of sorrow and regret. It pissed off Morro. Sensei Wu was about to speak before Morro cut him off, “Sensei, you are so damn scared that your students will turn out just like me. But in doing that, you’re basically killing them.” Morro told him. 

Sensei Wu sighed, “I know that, Morro. But you don’t understand. These children, they-” Morro cut him off, “They’re what? They’re weak? You don’t have to be scared to say it. They’re weak .” Morro said, glaring at his sensei. 

“They’re not weak, Morro. They’ve gotten lazy . For that, I blame myself,” Sensei Wu admitted, taking another sip of tea. 

Morro rolled his eyes, “Then, train them. That simple,” He said, yet Sensei Wu sighed again. Morro stared at him, expectantly. Sensei Wu put down his tea, “We will continue this talk… in the morning,” He said, almost drowsly. 

Morro just scoffed, “Fine,” He grumbled, “I’ll be around the monastery.”  Or some shit . He thought in annoyance. Why couldn’t he ever give me a straight answer? He wondered, standing on his feet. 

He went outside, into the plaza of the monastery, waiting for the ninja to get up so he can finally critique them. He leaned against a column, waiting. 

Sensei Wu on the other hand sighed to himself. Though, he was happy. His son was finally back home. 

Chapter Text

Kai woke up with a strange feeling. As if.. something was off. He couldn’t pinpoint how. He just felt like something wasn’t normal. Well, things never felt normal. He was a ninja and a Master of Fire. But, this feeling was different . Bad different. He sat up, looking around. It was still dark, but, he could tell it was morning. It was weird. He never woke up this early in the morning. 

It didn’t help the fact that he was the first to wake up, which never ever happens. Something was wrong. And Kai was going to be the first to figure out what it was. I mean, everyone else was asleep, so who else could?

Kai immediately got up and started to get ready. He changed into his red gi, which was given to him by his Sensei himself, and held two twin katanas. They weren’t as cool as the golden ones, seeing as they were stolen , but, that didn’t matter now. 

What mattered was finding out what was wrong in this damned monastery.

Kai kept his guard up, he didn’t dare to relax. Even just a bit. He opened the slider door, just a crack, so he can peep into the hallways to see if there was anything wrong. Anything just… off.

He looked out, yet, there was nothing. Could it have been my imagination? Kai wondered, but shook his head. No way! He thought, fueling his cockiness.

He smirked, rolling out of the hallway. He looked both ways, trying to check for anyone. For anything. 

But there was nothing.

“Huh. It really just must’ve been my imagination!” Kai mumbled, “Oh well,” Kai said out loud. He shrugged before returning to his and his fellow ninja’s sleeping courtiers. He was ready to go back into a deep, comfortable sleep. 

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat, and it sure wasn’t Kai. And, well, something told him it wasn’t Sensei Wu either…

He instantly turned around and took a stance, holding out his twin katanas, ready to fight. 

And, there he was.

The guy that had that dragon.

The guy who worked with Lloyd, that brat!

The guy that stole their damned golden weapons!  

Kai couldn’t think straight, but, when did he ever? He instantly charged, aiming to strike a hit. The guy moved to the side, making Kai miss his hit. Morro, Kai thought the guy’s name was, just scoffed, “Sloppy.” He said, glaring at Kai. 

“Hey! No one calls me sloppy!” Kaii jumped up and threw a kick, but Morro just dodged again. Morro moved to the side, “Lazy.” He said, almost taunting Kai. Kai rolled his eyes, “Says the guy who won’t even throw a punch!” Kai said, his fists clenched. Yet, Morro gave no reaction. It only made Kai angrier. 

Morro really pissed him off. Why was he even here anyways? Fight first, ask questions later. He thought, glaring at Morro who only gave him a cold glance. 

Kai knew what Morro probably thought. He probably thought he was better than him. Well, he’s got another thing coming! Kai threw a punch with all his strength. 

Before he knew it, he was on the ground. His twin katanas laid worthless on the hard, wood floor. Kai refused to give up. He isn’t weak, he is a ninja! The Red Ninja!

Morro stood above him, his hands behind his back. Morro looked at him as if he was lower than him as if Kai wasn’t worth anything. It pissed him off. Kai jumped back on his feet, “That’s all you got?” He exclaimed, putting up his fists.  

Morro just looked at him, not saying a word. But Kai knew that he wasn’t all happy either. 

“That is enough! Both of you!” Kai heard a sudden voice interrupt. He knew that voice, it was Sensei Wu. Kai instantly put down his fists, “Sensei, sensei!” He exclaimed, then pointed at Morro, “It’s the guy you told us about! Come on!” He said, confused about why his sensei wouldn’t let him fight the guy who literally stole their golden weapons!

“You talked of me?” Morro asked, almost surprised. Kai just scoffed. Why’d he care? He thought, crossing his arms. 

Sensei Wu sighed, “You both are my students, I expect you two to behave,” 

Instant protest. 

“But Sensei Wu! He’s literally robbed us!” Kai exclaimed, “I’m not some kid anymore, sensei. There’s no need to discipline me.” Morro said next. Kai rolled his eyes. Morro just flipped him off. 

“Oh, you!” Kai exclaimed, raising his fists up once more. Sensei Wu massaged his temple, “Enough is enough!” He said, raising his staff. 

“I don’t even understand why you are up this early, Kai. Morro I can understand, but, you Kai?” Sensei Wu said, confused. Kai huffed, crossing his arms, “Well, I had this feeling something was wrong and then I found this guy! Like, come on!” He said, “It’s so obvious hes the bad guy here!”

Morro just scoffed, “I’m going out to the training plaza.” Sensei Wu sighed, “Morro. When I say it’s too early. It means that it is too early to train.” Sensei Wu told him, almost drowsily. Truthfully, it wasn’t that it was too early, it was that Sensei Wu was scared that Morro might again. He just got him back, he couldn’t lose him now. 

“Like hell, it’s too early.” Morro said, crossing his arms, “Have you gone so soft to the point you refuse training?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Dude! He just said it was too early! Like, come on!” Kai exclaimed. He couldn’t help but admit he was a bit tired too. Morro just glared at him, “You only say that because you want to go back to sleep, you bastard.” He spat out. 

“Morro!”

“What? We both know it’s true.” 

Kai raised his fists again. Sensei Wu was tired of this, “I won’t repeat myself.” He said in a scolding voice. Kai groaned, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to persuade his sensei. He started to walk to his room, angrily. Morro just shook his head in disappointment. 

Sensei Wu looked at Morro disappointingly. Morro acted as if he hadn’t seen it. He wasn’t the same helpless kid Wu took in. He had gotten stronger, colder . Sensei Wu had no right to treat him like the kid he was then. 

He scoffed, turning around, about to walk away. 

“Wait,” Sensei Wu called out. Morro could hear the desperation in his sensei’s voice, it sadden him, though, he would never admit it. Morro stopped for a moment, turning his head ever so slightly so he could see his sensei. 

His sensei looked sad. Sorrowful. His sensei frowned, “I’m sorry Morro. I never should’ve told you of that prophecy. I took things for granted,” He admitted, Morro has already heard this a thousand times before.

He clenched his fists, thinking back on it. What it was like. How hard Morro trained. He just wanted to prove himself yet his sensei dismissed him as if he was nothing . He remembered the cold days in the winter when he first found out.

“I’m sorry Morro, but you aren’t the Green Ninja.” His sensei told him. Morro knew he was lying, hell, even he looked doubtful of this. He grabbed his katana, “Do it again, sensei! I know I am the Green Ninja!” 

Sensei Wu looked at him, almost, in a sorrowful way. Morro hated it. He hated that look. Sensei Wu gave him the exact same look when he first found I'm looking through his trash, trying to find food.

He gave him the exact same look each time Morro would tell him that he slept in the cold streets of winter, that was the entire reason why Sensei Wu found the courage to take him in.

The exact same look each time he overworked himself.

The look of sorrow. The look of pity . 

“Sensei! I’ll train harder, I’ll be better! ” Morro exclaimed, “I trained so hard! Please!” He cried and begged. But, sensei didn’t listen. He never does. Sensei Wu paused. Morro couldn’t tell what he was thinking. 

“Morro, you aren’t the Green Ninja,” He said, holding his palm over his chest. Morro shook his head, “No! No! I am!” He walked closer to his sensei, “I am!” He exclaimed, over and over. 

“Destiny has chosen their answer,” Sensei Wu told him. The wind picked up with anger and despair. Sensei Wu frowned. He had so much faith in this, why was it wrong? Morro held up the green gi, observing it. 

It has to be his. It was his purpose!

“Well, Destiny just chose wrong!” Morro said in a haze. He threw down the green gi, which is only suited for the Green Ninja, onto the wooden floor, “Morro, you cannot change destiny. It is impossible .” Sensei Wu told Morro, looking down at his tea. 

Morro refused to believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. He worked so hard! How- why? Was he not good enough? Not… worthy enough? No! No! He has to be!

 Morro sighed, snapping back to reality, and turning his head back to the hallway in front of him, facing away from his sensei, “Things have already been done, sensei. You can’t reverse them,” Morro told him. You cannot change destiny. 

Morro opened his mouth just for a second. He paused, trying to think of what to say. 

I blame you.

I hate you.

 I hate the fact that I missed you.

It isn’t fair, this is all your fault. 

Don’t be disappointed in me. 

I’m sorry. 

Just don’t leave me alone again. 

    He tried to think of what he should say. But, nothing was worth saying. He couldn’t change the past, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he wanted to go back and fix things. It wasn’t doable. It was impossible . 

He closed his mouth, walking away. 

Morro wondered if he would regret not saying anything. He wondered if this would be the last time he would even have a chance to have a talk like this. He was so cowardly. Morro didn’t dare to turn back. 

He was going to stay there only to help Lloyd. Lloyd is his top priority. Lloyd is his student, he won’t give up so easily on him just because of some obstacles. He wasn’t going to give up on him. 

Lloyd has no one else! Morro needs to be there for him. He cannot afford to lose him. 

Morro waited outside in the training area for the other ninjas to wake up. 

He looked up at the sky, it was still dark. But, it was slowly getting lighter. The night sky was leaving for another part of Ninjago. Morro felt stupid to find it comforting. The moon would never leave forever. 

It would always come back at the end of the day. 

Morro scoffed, watching the sun coming up. So many people felt hope when they think of the sun. Morro just felt as though his eyes were burning. He was always more of a night person. Of course, he was. Why wouldn’t he be? He just found the night so much better than the day. 

He heard footsteps around the monastery. He knew then that the ninjas had woken up.

Kai on the other hand was complaining to his fellow ninja. 

“Like,” He started, “He’s a bad guy ! He stole our golden weapons and sensei welcomed him in like an old friend!” Kai complained, looking through the fridge. “Well, Morro is an old friend of sensei. Morro is his son . I think sensei would be more than welcome to let his son back after all this time,” Zane said, standing beside Kai, trying to explain the situation from a logical perspective. 

It made sense but Kai decided to ignore it. 

Kai rolled his eyes, “Still!” He said, pouring out some orange juice into a glass cup. He started to chug down the orange juice he held, “This guy is giving me some bad vibes,” Cole pipped up, “Exactly!” Kai agreed, tilting his empty cup towards Cole. 

Nya just sighed, seeming disappointed in her brother, “From what sensei says, you’re the one who provoked him first.” She told him. They talked to Sensei Wu not too long ago and told them the story. Of course, Kai tried to get them on his side, but none of them were on either side.

Kai turned to her, almost confused why his sister was defending a guy like him, “Nya, he kicked your ass. Don’t you want, at least, some revenge?” Kai asked, putting a hand on his hip, and leaning against the counter. 

Nya just tsked, crossing her arms, “I’m just doing what's logical! Even then, he returned the golden weapons and sensei says he wants to help us with our training.” Nya rolled her eyes, grabbing the orange juice carton to pour herself a drink too. 

“I’m sorry, us?” Kai asked, raising an eyebrow. Nya just scoffed, “Sorry, you ,” She corrected, rolling her eyes. Kai sighed, “I know you want to fight with us, Nya. But, it’s too dangerous for someone like you.” Kai tried to comfort her. Nya paused, “What do you mean by ‘someone like me’?” She asked. 

Kai put down his glass cup, “You know. You’re a girl and stuff and you’re also my little sister. It’s my job to protect you,” Kai told her. Nya put down her cup, “I don’t need your protection. Why do you guys think I’m less just because I’m a girl?” She asked, glaring at her brother. 

Kai looked around for help but there was no one there, the other ninja fled, “It’s not that I think less of you,” Kai started, “It’s just that... You know,” He said, scratching the back of his head. Nya just stared at him disappointingly, “Yeah. I know.” She said, then turned around and left the room. 

“Wait Nya!” Kai called out for her but it was already too late, she was gone. He sighed, “Good going, Kai!” Jay pipped up from behind the counter, “You just made her mad!” He said next. Kai rolled his eyes, “I don’t see you trying to explain to Nya why she can’t fight with us!” Kai said, hitting Jay’s head. 

“Why do you not let her fight with us, Kai? She is a good fighter, it would be good to have her on the team,” Zane asked, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly. Kai looked to the side. 

He paused. 

“I just don’t want her to get hurt is all!” He said it wasn’t off from the truth. 

Ever since Lord Garmadon kidnaped Nya, Kai has been scared. Scared that Nya would get kidnapped again and Kai wouldn’t be able to save her. He was scared that she might fight and fall in battle. 

He was the only one who raised Nya after their parents disappeared, he couldn’t have Nya disappear too. She was the only one he had left. Sure, the ninja was there too, but, Nya was different. She was his sister and basically his kid. 

He knew that she would pretend to hate the girly stuff that he would see a lot of girls wearing, but then she would try it out in private. He knew that she hated being weak, he knew that she just wanted to help him. But, he just didn’t want her to be in danger. 

He knew that she still has nightmares of Lord Garmadon.

Kai just wants to protect her from all that. 

“You there Kai?” Kai heard a voice say. It was Cole’s, “Yeah, what's up?” He asked, looking at Cole. Cole shrugged, “You were zoning out on us,” Jay said, pipping up once more. Kai scratched the back of his head, “It’s nothing.” 

Zane looked at him concerningly while Jay just dismissed it, believing Kai. 

Kai just smiled, “Come on, let’s go say good morning to sensei, why don’t we?” Kai asked, “Didn’t we all ready?” Zane asked next, “Shut up.” Kai replied, instantly shutting down Zane’s confidence. 

__

At least an hour passed before Morro got fed up with waiting. 

He realized then that the ninja doesn’t come in train very often nowadays so why would they be here at this time of day? He groaned, training that these sorry excuses of ninjas would be a pain in the ass. He really didn’t want to deal with this, but it made him pissed each time he saw them being lazy. Which was all the time. 

He walked inside the monastery doors almost in a furious manner. 

He heard commotion in what he thought was the kitchen. He frowned, making his way to the kitchen. He put his hands behind his back. 

“Hey, you’re Morro, right?” Morro heard a familiar voice. He knew who it was, though, he didn’t know her name. He turned around, facing the girl, “I am.” He said, glaring down at her. She wore red clothing while Morro wore dark and green clothing. 

Nya didn’t dare shake under the gaze of Sensei Wu’s first student. Morro was much more intimidating than he was before, but that wouldn’t stop her. Why would it? “Are you planning on training all of us?” Nya asked, hope in her eyes. 

Morro looked at her for a second, not showing any emotions, “Why wouldn’t I? You all are in desperate need of help.” Morro told her, turning away from her. Nya scoffed. She was glad that this guy was going to train them, including herself, but to say they all just sucked?

    “We’re not weak, you know!” Nya told him, a frown on her face and furrowed eyebrows. Morro sighed, “Your brothers bullied a child, if that isn’t a sign of weakness then I don’t know what is.” He said, giving Nya a sideways glance. Morro might be a little biased, but, Lloyd is his student. He didn’t care what the ninjas did to be ninjas, he just hated them for what they did to Lloyd.

Nya stumbled, “They didn’t bully him, per se.” She said, “He was stealing from the village!” Morro rolled his eyes, “He’s 12 and he was homeless. What the hell did you expect him to do?” Morro asked, turning back to Nya, and crossing his arms.

“He was homeless?” Nya asked. Morro felt like it was a question to herself rather than him. But he’ll be damned if he didn’t say anything, “Yes, he was. Until I came in, he was probably living off the scraps of expired food.” He told her, almost pleased with her reaction. He knew if Lloyd was here, he would probably make fun of them all and pull pranks. 

“We didn’t know. If we did, he would’ve taken him in!” Nya said, “I’m sure Sensei Wu would’ve taken him in no problem.” She told him. Morro scoffed. He would’ve found out Lloyd was the Green Ninja. He thought. 

Morro has his reasons for not telling Sensei Wu. Not because he is jealous, but because Lloyd is a child . He knew his sensei, he probably would train him the instant that he found out. Morro remembered the training his sensei put him into after he found out he was an elemental master. 

Sure, Morro was harsh on Lloyd. But he wanted him to still have a childhood. 

Morro sighed, “I know what you’re getting at. You want me to help you with your training. I’m guessing no one else really trains you so, that’s why you came to me.” It was obvious that she wanted training. Morro knew she was self-taught, though, he didn’t know why. 

He knew her mother was the Elemental Master of Water, hell, he talked to Maya a few times before while he was young. And, it was more likely that Nya was the Elemental Master of Water, so it didn’t make any sense why his sensei wouldn’t train her. 

He didn’t care too much about it anyways. It wasn’t any of his business. And, sensei probably has a reason why he kept that a secret, he usually had a reason. But either way, it wasn’t his problem. 

Nya looked at him and waited, seeming to expect an answer. Morro paused for a moment, “I’ll help you. I won’t train you but I’ll give you a tip or two. Consider it a favor from a fellow student of Sensei Wu.” He said. 

Lloyd really softened him up, huh?

Nya pumped her fist up in the air, making a silent celebration. Morro just ignored her and continued to walk to the kitchen where he found the ninjas just talking to each other. Sensei Wu was there too which just made Morro disappointed even more than he already was. 

The room fell silent when they acknowledged his presence.

“Ah, Morro,” Sensei Wu started but Morro wasn’t hearing any of it, “You sorry excuses of ninjas,” “Hey!” “Need to continue to train. You’ve gotten lazy. You’ve gotten soft .” Morro started, not letting anyone interrupt him. 

“Sensei Wu says he and you ninjas can help me, but how the hell are you supposed to fight if you’re so damn weak ?” Morro asked, glaring at each and every one of them. “Hey! We do train!” The blue one, Morro didn’t care enough to acknowledge his name, said. Though, Lloyd told him once that his name was Jay.

“The hell you do.” Morro scowled, “ Get the fuck out to the damn training area and start training, like the ninjas you call yourselves! ” He said, glaring at them. The blue one tensed, and the black one just looked to the side, ignoring what Morro said. Zane didn’t show a reaction. 

“Hey! You do not get to yell at my friends!” Kai exclaimed, pointing at Morro. Morro scoffed, “You’re so weak, it fucking hurts.”

    “Morro, that is enough!” 

Sensei Wu stood in front of Kai, seeming to protect him. Morro rolled his eyes, “You were just like that, you know? Sure, nicer. But if you dare say you weren’t then you’re just lying to yourself, sensei.” Morro said. 

It wasn’t entirely true.

Yes, his sensei made him train his ass off but, he took care of him. It was a learning process, of course, Sensei Wu made mistakes. But, Morro isn’t going to pretend what training was like back then. 

Sensei Wu pushed him and he pushed himself. Sensei Wu was one hell of a strict teacher before he softened up. He liked his teaching back then. He hated it now because he’s gotten too soft. 

Sensei Wu sighed, “I admit, I was harsh on you. But, Morro, you knew why I was harsh. And, either way, I was never as harsh as you are now.” He said. Morro tsked. 

“Sensei, look. Either have your ninjas train, or I leave. There’s no point in me staying here if you aren’t even strong enough to… help me.” Morro said. God , he hated saying the word help. He didn’t want help but he knew he wasn’t going to be able to do this alone. 

But, what's the point of getting help if they’re not much use to you?

“Sensei, you used to train me nonstop. No breaks. It was only when I was too hurt to continue did we stop. Yes, you were nice. You feed me, you sheltered me, you were kind when no one else was. But, you were one hell of a strict teacher, sensei.” Morro said.

Sensei Wu paused for a moment, thinking it over. The ninjas and Morro anticipated his answer. Sensei Wu stroked his beard, “Fine,” He turned his back against Morro to face his students, “Go train. Morro might be able to give you tips on your training, he has been a ninja much longer than any of you, so don’t refuse his help.” Sensei Wu said. 

“You can’t be serious!” Jay exclaimed, “He’s the bad guy! ”

Sensei Wu tensed. He didn’t want his students to think his son is a villain. “Enough is enough. Go.” He said sternly. 

Sensei Wu heard a few groans and moans about how it wasn’t fair. He ignored them. He turned to Morro, “Don’t be too harsh, Morro. They’re still children.” He said. He heard Morro say something under his breath.

“So was I.”

Chapter Text

    Morro knew that the ninjas were out of practice, but he didn’t expect them to be this bad. He could tell the only one who actually wasn’t that bad was Nya, but even then she had so many things wrong. The way she stood, the way she struck with a sword, it was all wrong one way or another. It was so damn obvious that she had never had help before, that she was self-taught.

    Or Jay. He relied too much on his ability. He could only summon lighting through his golden weapons, which confused Morro because they should be able to use their elements without any type of weapon. But either way, take away the nunchucks, take away Jay’s strongest point. He’s tried to get Jay to use something other than his elemental but that just failed tremendously. 

    Kai was too hot-headed. He ran into situations without even thinking first. Morro knew he was going to regret that someday. He tried to help Kai with it, emphasis on the ‘try’ part. Kai was too stubborn to accept his help. It annoyed Morro because Kai seemed to have a problem only with him. 

    Zane. Zane was confusing. He barely even seemed human. He has so disconnected from the others to the point even Morro was confused. Zane got along well with the other ninjas both communicating and during fights, but even during that he seemed to be… somewhere else. But, one thing Morro liked about him is that he was reasonable . He would think before going into situations. Plus, he isn’t as out of practice as the others. It made Morro’s job easier. Though, Morro knew Zane still had a lot to learn. 

    Cole. He was simple. Morro knew that someone like Cole would be on the offense rather than defense, so Morro made sure he practiced that. Cole is the Master of Earth, so the closer he was to his elemental, the stronger he could use the earth to his will. But, like with Jay, he seemed to rely on his elemental too much. They all did. 

    The only one who didn’t rely on their elemental powers while training was Nya. But that was because she didn’t even know she is an Elemental Master!

    Morro groaned, “Again.” He said, crossing his arms, looking at the ninja spar with each other. He leaned against a column since a certain someone, Sensei Wu, has forbidden him from being too ‘harsh’. It pissed him off. He was only trying to help, well, in his own way. 

    Kai and Cole were the ones sparring first. Morro decided to have them battle each other to learn from each other in a sense. They kept to their own styles, which was understandable. Morro will admit that even he is too stubborn to change how he fights. 

    Nya and Jay talked to each other on the sidelines while Zane just observed how they fought. Usually, Morro would get on to the two talking and not observing, but after training Lloyd, he knew it was inevitable. 

    Morro wondered how Lloyd was doing. He hoped he wasn’t hurt, he hoped he was somewhere safe . Morro knew he needed to find him soon. But, with the ninjas like this , it’ll take time. 

    “Time? You know he doesn’t have much time, Morro. Don’t be an idiot, you know he’s in some type of situation that he can’t get out of. Like he always is,” It was the voice again. Morro looked around, subtly. But he found no one. It also seemed as though no one heard what Morro heard. Morro gritted his teeth, it was the second time hearing this godforsaken voice. 

    “You cannot see me, unfortunately.” It said, “Not in this form at least,” The voice said again. Morro wondered why it was there. What it was. He wondered, out of all people, why pick him to talk to? 

    “Wondering will get you nothing.” It said. Morro frowned. It was pissing him off. He hated being told what to do. 

    “ Who are you?” He asked, mumbling to himself so no one else could hear. The last thing he wanted was the ninjas calling him insane. But, he was already unhinged, wasn’t he?

    “I’ve seen worse.” The voice said in a grumbling voice. Morro sighed, “You didn’t answer my first question,” He said. The voice hummed. It paused. Morro didn’t dare to think another thing, it seemed to hear his thoughts.

    …

    Morro was getting fed up with waiting. He hated waiting. “Tell me your name,” He said again in a more serious tone. Suddenly, he felt a weight being removed from his shoulders. 

    The voice disappeared. He could tell it left somewhere. He sighed, trying to not think about it. Wondering would get you nothing. He furrowed his eyebrows together. Morro shook his head, there was no time in thinking of just simple matters. 

    Though the voice was right about one thing, Lloyd may not have much time at all. Morro could just be wasting his time with the ninjas and Lloyd could already be in danger. He continued to watch the back-and-forth between Kai and Cole as he thought. 

    Where would Lloyd go? That was the first question. He honestly didn’t know where Lloyd would go. He always seemed to be going somewhere . He knew Lloyd didn’t like the city, but he also knew that Ninjago City always had the latest Starfarer Comics. 

    Morro remembered the guy, he has forgotten his name long ago, who seemed to know Lloyd. Maybe it was their love of comics that made them talk to each other. Or maybe Lloyd was just a big nerd and that guy was also a big nerd.

    But that didn’t matter. 

    He wondered if that guy would know where Lloyd was. 

    Cole switched out with Jay, leaving Kai still in the arena. 

    Probably not. Lloyd rarely talked of him so they’re probably just acquaintances. Morro thought. But then who else would know where Lloyd was? 

    Lloyd didn’t know many people in general. What of the kids back at the Darkly’s School for Bad Boys? Morro wondered. He knew that Lloyd was bullied there for years and only had one friend that he didn’t even know if he was his friend. 

    But even then, they wouldn’t know where Lloyd went, would they? 

    No. No, they wouldn’t. Morro knew that those kids only cared about themselves, they were taught to be like that. He knew that none of them haven’t seen Lloyd for, at least, a year. A lot of things happened during then. 

    What of… Misako?

    That was one hell of a question. But, Misako barely even knows Lloyd. How would she know where Lloyd was? Morro sighed, trying to think. Maybe he would have to talk to his sensei about this. Though, he wished he didn’t have to. 

    Morro groaned, walking inside the monastery to talk to his sensei about what they should do. He was seriously not going to enjoy this stupid but needed conversation. His sensei was wise. He just wished that his sensei was wise enough to know what to do. Or, at least, help him figure out what to do. 

__

    When Lloyd woke up, he could see the bright sun shining into his eyes. Lloyd covered his eyes, trying to ignore the burning pain he felt in his eyes after looking into the sun. He hummed, he felt like he could sleep for a thousand years. He yawned, trying to keep himself awake. 

    Lloyd could tell he was still being carried. It was comfortable. It was. But he knew he needed to wake up, well, he should wake up. He groaned, “Let me down please,” He asked in a gravelly voice. 

    Bentho nodded, slowly letting him down.

    When Lloyd saw him, he immediately felt bad. Benthomaar had eyebags and looked as if he never heard the word sleep in his life. Lloyd frowned, “Why didn’t you go to sleep?” He asked, “I did, you should’ve too!” Lloyd added, trying to add a more dramatic effect. 

    Benthomaar rubbed his eyes, “I couldn’t sleep.” He stated. Lloyd bit his bottom lip. He could tell Benthomaar was in no mood for talking. Benthomaar continued to walk. It seemed as though he was walking the entire time Lloyd was asleep. It only made him feel worse about it. 

    Lloyd trailed behind him, looking around. Trying to take his mind somewhere else.  

    That’s when he saw it. 

    “Benthomaar, look!” He exclaimed, pointing at what he sees. Benthomaar turned in that direction. Benthomaar almost seemed disappointed. Lloyd’s heart raced, “It’s a village on the Endless Sea, Lloyd. We need to stay away from the waters, not go near it.” Benthomaar said, leaning onto his spear. 

    Lloyd shook his head, “You don’t get it, do you?” Lloyd tried to reason, he didn't want Benthomaar to be angry with him. I mean, why would Bentho get it? He’s never seen that village before!

    But Lloyd has. 

    “It’s Stiix!” He exclaimed as if Benthomaar would get it, but he didn’t. Lloyd grabbed Benthomaar’s hand and started to head toward Stiix. Benthomaar was too tired to protest, but not too tired to ask questions, “Stiix?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Lloyd hummed, “We must’ve landed somewhere not too far from Stiix, so, now we can go find Ronin!” Benthomaar wasn’t awake enough to wonder what the hell Lloyd meant by that. 

    Lloyd dragged Benthomaar down to the docks, “Who’s Ronin?” Benthomaar asked, almost tripping on his feet while Lloyd dragged in through the village. Lloyd was basically running. 

    Stiix hasn’t changed all that much since the last time he’s been there, that was how he was able to find Ronin’s shop so quickly. It was the same old shack back when his master took him there. He knew that Ronin would help them, well, he hoped Ronin would help them. Ronin and Master Morro seemed to be friends so he hoped that would save his ass from all this shit that he got himself into. 

    He opened the door to the shack. And there he was, Ronin . He stood behind the counter. 

    “That is Ronin,” Lloyd stated, walking up to the counter. Ronin smirked. Lloyd knew that Ronin recognized Lloyd from the last time he saw him here, “Hey kid,” Ronin greeted. He looked around, “Where’s Morro?” He asked, almost expecting to find his grumpy comrade by the kid who seemed to trail him all the time. 

    Lloyd paused. 

    “That- uhm.” He tried to think of a lie, “Save it, kid. It’s none of my business.” Ronin said, interrupting Lloyd. Lloyd knew he wouldn’t be able to come up with a good lie anyways. He failed that class when he used to go to school. Lloyd almost sighed in relief. Almost. “But what is but business is why you’re here, kid.” He said, “Came back for more contacts?” He asked. Lloyd completely forgot that he used to have brown contacts. He cringed at the thought of having to tell Ronin he lost them. Ronin then looked at Benthomaar, “Or something for your friend here?” 

    Lloyd scratched the back of his head, “Yeah, something like that.” He said. He looked up to Benthomaar, but he didn’t say anything. Lloyd kind of wished he would but he didn’t. Lloyd sighed, looking back to Ronin, “We need help.” 

    “Oh yeah? What do ya need help with?” Ronin asked, leaning forward towards the two. Lloyd fiddled with his fingers, trying to think of an idea. Benthomaar stepped forward, “We need you to change his ,” Benthomaar gestured to Lloyd, “appearance and maybe give us some type of ride to somewhere for us to lay low,” Benthomaar finished his sentence. 

    Lloyd was glad he said it, Benthomaar sounded confident. Though tired, he held his ground. Lloyd knew that if he said it, it would just raise suspicions. 

    Ronin hummed, crossing his arms. Lloyd could tell he was thinking, “I’ll admit, I’m kinda curious about why you need to lay low. But I already said it ain’t any of my business so I won’t ask.” Ronin said before taking a pause. Lloyd knew he was going to say something, “But, how would you afford it?” Ronin asked, then looked down at Lloyd, “I only let Morro along with that hint because I already gave it to him before, and I seriously didn’t want my ass kicked, and still don’t.” Ronin started, “But this, hell, I gotta charge for it. What kind of businessman would I be if I didn’t?” He asked, a smug look on his face.

    Thud . 

    Benthomaar set his spear on the counter. It was the first time he put it down, Lloyd noticed. He was glad that he put it down, but not for the reason. Lloyd frowned, he knew that spear meant a lot to Benthomaar. He felt bad because Benthomaar was giving it up for him. 

    Ronin instantly grabbed the spear and started to observe it, looking at it with his eyepatch thing that also served as a microscope. Lloyd couldn’t help to think that microscope was cool, but he didn’t make any comments about it. Though, it felt like it would belong in Starfarer . 

    “Now, this is one hell of a spear, I won’t lie.” Ronin whispered. Lloyd felt like it was to himself rather than them. Lloyd looked up at Benthomaar with a concerned look, yet, it seemed as though Benthomaar didn’t even notice. Benthomaar seemed to be thinking to himself, Lloyd was scared of what he was thinking of. He hoped Benthomaar wasnt angry at Lloyd for all the shit he caused.

    Minutes passed as Ronin continued to look at it. Lloyd could feel sweat down his forehead, he was scared that Ronin might not accept it. Or that he might scam them.

    “You’ve got yourself a deal,” He said with a smile. Lloyd sighed in relief, the weight on his shoulders disappeared. “Come on, with me.” He said, “If ya want to change this kid’s appearance, I got a thing or two that’ll definitely help.” Ronin said, looking at Benthomaar. Benthomaar nodded, acknowledging what Ronin said. 

    “Come with me, both of you,” Ronin told them, turning his back against the two, with the spear in his hands. He started to walk, and Lloyd knew where he was walking. Lloyd took Benthomaar’s hand and started trailing behind Ronin. 

    They were going to the back of the shack. 

    Once they got there, Lloyd noticed that it was much smaller than the first room they were in. Ronin put the spear somewhere hidden, Lloyd guessed it was so nobody would steal it. He hoped no one would steal it.

Ronin sat Lloyd down, “Okay, first, we need to take care of the hair,” He said, taking off Lloyd’s straw hat and putting it down to the side. 

    Lloyd frowned, but he knew that he’ll get it back after. Ronin started to separate his hair into different sections, Lloyd wondered why, “What are you doing?” He asked, “You’ll see.” Ronin replied. Benthomaar stood beside him, watching him. 

    Lloyd fiddled with his hoodie, wondering what Ronin was going to do. There wasn’t some mirror either, so Lloyd was just left to think. What would Ronin even need to do with his hair? That was the main question.

    Lloyd could feel Ronin just stroke his hair with something, it burned a bit. Lloyd suppressed a hiss. 

    Lloyd looked to Benthomaar, who sat on the ground, asleep. Lloyd was glad that he was finally able to fall asleep, but not at this time! Lloyd continued to fiddle with his hoodie, trying to ignore the pain in his scalp. It was bearable, yeah, but he still didn’t like it. 

    After what seemed like an eternity, Ronin finally stopped. Lloyd waited for a while. He wanted to touch his hair but each time he was about to, Ronin slapped his hand away. Lloyd sighed, he wished he had one of his gaming consoles right about now.

Almost about 30 minutes passed before he was drenched in water. It was cold. Lloyd instantly got up, shivering, “You’d you do that?!” he exclaimed, crossing his arms as his teeth rattled against each other, Ronin sighed, “Chill out kid, I needed to do that. Come on, I’ll give you a change of clothes.” Ronin said. 

    Lloyd frowned, saddened. He was glad that Ronin took off his straw hat though, it was saved in the line of fire, or, line of water. 

    Ronin walked out to some chest of some sort. He opened it and started to go through it. Lloyd walked up to see what he was doing. Ronin threw him a towel, it landed on Lloyd’s face. He jumped, then grabbed the towel, “Dry your hair, I’m not done with it.” Ronin said as he continued to rummage through the chest of the clothing. 

    Lloyd groaned, “Seriously?” He asked. Ronin hummed, confirming Lloyd’s complaints. Lloyd sighed, then started to rough up his hair, trying to dry it as quickly as possible. By the end of it, Lloyd felt dizzy. He went up to feel his hair and it was still a bit damp, it annoyed him. He hated how when he wanted to dry his hair all the way, it would still be damp. He was just to have to wait for all of it to dry. 

    Lloyd was still shivering since SOMEBODY drenched him in water, he was not naming any names. RONIN. He stuck out his tongue at Ronin but instantly stopped when Ronin turned to look at him. Lloyd acted as if had done nothing wrong. 

    Ronin held a white t-shirt that Lloyd knew was too big for him and a jacket with fluff around the edges and on the inside. He looked at the two before the things were thrown at him, “CAN YOU STOP WITH THE THROWING?” Lloyd asked, stomping his foot down. 

    Ronin chuckled to himself. Lloyd blew a raspberry and crossed his arms. 

    “Go put on the shirt, wait to put on the jacket until we’re finished,” Ronin told him. Lloyd nodded, taking off his hoodie. He frowned when he realized his shirt underneath his hoodie got drenched too, but, Lloyd knew it would. His shirt was just too damn thin. 

    He took off his now-drenched shirt to replace it with the white one. (Lloyd tried to ignore Ronin’s stare, he knew why he was staring. But, he ignored it anyway.) And, as Lloyd expected, it was too big for him. Lloyd extended his arms out to see how it was. The shirt was down to his knees. He felt like a kid who was wearing an adult’s clothing, which isn’t fair from the truth. Lloyd was just short for his age!

    He looked up at Ronin who had a hand on his chin, seeming to think. “Okay, hold on,” He said before going back to the chest of clothes. Lloyd assumed he was going to find him some other shirt. 

    Ronin continued to look through the chest, “Sorry kid, there’s nothing else for ya,” He said, looking at Lloyd. Lloyd tilted his head to the side, “Really?” He asked, looking at the chest, but not daring to rummage through it. Ronin nodded, “Okay, sit back down, kid.”

    Lloyd groaned, going back to sit down, “Yeah yeah, kid,” He said. Lloyd looked at him, pouting. Ronin held scissors, “Hey! Hey! What are you going to do?!” Lloyd exclaimed, instantly getting up. 

    “Chill out, kid. We all know you need a haircut anyways,” Ronin said, walking closer to Lloyd. It was true, Lloyd was in desperate need of a haircut. But, he ignored it. Lloyd has always cut his hair himself, he wasn’t about to let someone else cut it for him!

    Ronin sighed, “Alright, then I guess you don’t need my help anymore,” He said shrugging. Lloyd frowned, “Fine, fine.” He said he wasn’t about to let this go to waste. 

    Ronin smirked. Lloyd rolled his eyes, going back to face the wall he had to face before. 

    Snip. Snip . 

    Lloyd could hear Ronin cutting his hair, that was the only thing that filled the silence. Lloyd slouched a bit before Ronin straightened his back, turning his head so he could cut it better, “So, kid, mind explaining that nasty scar you got?” Ronin asked. 

    Lloyd could hear his heart racing. Thump. Thump . He heard it go. Lloyd paused, “You don’t gotta tell if you don’t wanna.” Ronin said. Ronin paused. Lloyd was a little concerned because he could tell Ronin wasn’t finished with his sentence, “But one thing, was this caused by Morro?” He asked, his voice was no longer the cheery funny voice it was before, it was more serious.

    “No!” Lloyd exclaimed instantly. His master would never hurt him, at least, not on purpose! Ronin sighed, “Good, that’s all I needed to know.” He said, the cheer back in his voice. Lloyd noted the slight relief in his voice.  

    Lloyd was left to wonder what Ronin meant by that. 

    Lloyd didn’t know how much time passed before Ronin patted his hair, “Okay, we’re done!” He said, ruffling his hair. Lloyd sighed in relief, his butt hurt after sitting so long. He felt that feeling he would feel after getting a haircut. Though, he couldn’t tell if it was a good feeling or a bad one. 

    Ronin smirked. Lloyd could tell he was praising himself. He sighed. Lloyd stood up and stretched. He reached to the sky, and he hummed. Lloyd looked to the side. Benthomaar was still asleep, Lloyd could almost swear he saw some droll on the side of his mouth. Oh well. Lloyd thought, he was happy that Benthomaar was finally able to get sleep. 

    Ronin started to rummage through something once more, “Since you lose your last pair of contacts, I’ll give you a new one.” Ronin told him. What worried Lloyd was how this was able to be all paid for, was that spear really that much? He fiddled with the hem of his new t-shirt. 

    “The opposite of red, is green , right?” Ronin asked, side-eyeing Lloyd. Lloyd hummed, “I think so…” he mumbled to himself, scratching his chin with his finger. He was never good at math. Was that even math? He shrugged, he didn’t know. (Morro could feel a sudden shiver up his spine, he knew his student was being stupid again.)

    Ronin washed his hands with some nearby water before gesturing to Lloyd to come closer to him. Lloyd knew Ronin was going to put in the contacts himself, he stuck out his tongue but walked up to him nonetheless. 

    Ronin put Lloyd’s new contacts in. Lloyd blinked as his eyes watered. He has the urge to rub his eyes but he knew it would only make it worse. Lloyd just kept his hands clenched on his shirt. Ronin hummed. 

    He took out the jacket that had fluff on it, Lloyd knew it was going to be too big on him, like how it was on the white shirt. He shrugged, he didn’t care all that much anyways. Ronin gave him his jacket, Lloyd was a little skeptical that he was going to throw it again but he didn’t. 

    He put on the jacket. It was so damn comfortable! He smiled, fiddling with the fluff part. Lloyd has been wearing that old worn-out hoodie for so long, Lloyd didn’t even know how long, it was nice to have a change. It was rough but new. It was hard to explain. 

    “You like it, kid?” Ronin asked a smile on his face as well. Lloyd looked up at him and pulled him into a tight hug, “Thank you, Ronin!” He exclaimed. There was a pause. Lloyd worried that he did something wrong.

Ronin ruffled Lloyd’s hair, releasing Lloyd’s worries, “I can see why Morro softened up on you now,” He said in a whisper as if he was talking to himself. Lloyd noted that he did that a lot. Maybe it was just because he got so lonely that he started to talk to himself. Lloyd didn’t know. 

    Lloyd pulled away from Ronin, the biggest grin on his face. Ronin sighed. Lloyd ignored it. 

    Ronin walked to another part of the shack, and grabbed something, it was a mirror, a small mirror but still a mirror nonetheless. He gave it to Lloyd, “And voila!” Ronin said, seeming to pat himself on the back. Lloyd knew that Morro was proud of himself. 

    Lloyd could barely recognize himself. His hair was brown now and was cut to go to the side rather than his usual bangs covering his face. It made him look older, just by a tad. Lloyd’s eyes were now green too! Not his usual red eyes anymore!

    The jacket was too big for him by a long shot, but he didn’t care. 

    Lloyd grabbed his straw hat that was on the side. He put it on top of his head. Lloyd giggled to himself. Ronin put away the mirror, “Enjoying yourself?” He asked. Lloyd nodded and hummed. 

Ronin started to go through the chest of clothing, “Your friend,” Ronin started, “His name is Benthomaar,” Lloyd interrupted. Ronin nodded, “I can’t change his appearance like I did yours. I’ll give him a cloak but that’s all I can do really.” Ronin said, looking around at the clothes he had on his chest. Lloyd frowned, it was a bit unfair to Benthomaar since Lloyd got a whole makeover and all he got was some cloak. 

    “But,” Ronin started, “Benthomaar told me that you two need somewhere to lay low.” He pulled out a cloak for Benthomaar. The cloak was long and wide. Lloyd assumed that Ronin took in the account of Benthomaar having a shark’s tail while he picked a cloak. Lloyd was glad he did. 

    “That,  I can give you,” Ronin finished his sentence. Lloyd smiled, “Where?” He asked. Ronin smirked, “Do you know how many uninhabited temples there are for The First Spinjitzu Master, kid?” Ronin asked, turning to Lloyd. 

    Lloyd shrugged, “Not really, no,” Lloyd admitted. Why would he care in the first place? “Well, back when Morro and I used to travel together, we used to find a bunch of temples,” Ronin admitted, “Wait, you guys used to travel together?” Lloyd asked. Ronin nodded. 

    Ronin didn’t say anything more about the matter. 

    Lloyd didn’t want to pry him on it.

    Lloyd walked over to Benthomaar, he assumed that it was time for him to wake up. He didn’t want to wake him up, but they needed to get going. Lloyd sighed, kneeling down to his friend. He shook him gently, but just enough to wake him up. 

    Benthomaar woke up very slowly. Lloyd stood up and stepped away from Benthomaar as he got up on his feet. Benthomaar rubbed his eyes awake, “Ya finally away, sleepy head?” Ronin asked. Lloyd just shot him a stare. Ronin wasn’t very phased by it. 

    Benthomaar yawned before looking at Lloyd. He gaped, “Is that you, Lloyd?” He asked. Lloyd nodded, a smile on his face. It was funny how shocked Benthomaar was, “I barely even recognized you!” Benthomaar exclaimed before ruffling up Lloyd’s hair. 

    Benthomaar looked at Ronin, “Thank you, Ronin,” He said, a smile implanted on his face. Ronin sighed, scratching the back of his head, “Come on kid, we’re not done yet. You still need a ride, don’t you?” Ronin asked. 

    Benthomaar nodded. Ronin gestured the two outside, just away from prying eyes from the public. 

The one thing Lloyd couldn’t understand was, why was Ronin being so nice to them. He knew that that spear Benthomaar gave up was worth a lot, but Ronin seemed so nice. It didn’t make much sense to Lloyd. Lloyd liked to think it was because he was a student of Morro. Ronin and Morro seemed to know each other after all so just maybe. 

Ronin whistled this weird tune. Lloyd tilted his head to the side, mostly in confusion. Benthomaar just waited in anticipation. Suddenly, Lloyd heard engines. He looked up to find a flying machine. 

“Meet R.E.X,” Ronin said before climbing the ladder. Lloyd followed him and Benthomaar followed Lloyd. Lloyd smiled, maybe things were going his way now. He hoped it stayed like this. 

Benthomaar grabbed to the sides, trembling. Lloyd looked over at him, “You scared of flying?” He asked hands on his hips. He never felt so free . Yet, Benthomaar looked at him with terrified eyes. Lloyd should’ve known someone from the ocean probably didn’t like to be in the sky. 

Ronin took the front seat while Benthomaar and Lloyd stayed at the back. 

And a few moments passed. And a few more. Suddenly, they were bolting through the sky. Lloyd gasped as he saw the terrain move and they say put. Benthomaar on the other hand just kept his eyes closed. Out of sight, out of mind. 

Lloyd couldn’t tell how much time had passed since they first entered R.E.X.

Before he knew it, they were landing. Well, they were still hovering above the air. He frowned, they landed in the middle of nowhere. Lloyd gestured for Benthomaar to open his eyes. Ronin walked over to the two, “Walk out over there,” Ronin pointed to the west, “And you’ll find a temple.” He said. 

“There’s also a village nearby, but nobody really goes to the temple so you’ll be safe. You can get supplies from that village so,” Ronin said. Lloyd nodded, climbing down the ladder. He gestured for Benthomaar to come with him. Benthomaar jumped down. 

“We’ll, I’ll see ya kids another time,” Ronin said, “I’ll come to check up on ya in a couple of days if you aren’t dead by then,” Ronin added as he got back to the front seat and flew away. Lloyd smiled, “Come on, Benthomaar, let’s get going,” 

Chapter Text

    Working with Stranger (Morro) was… a more demanding challenge than Ronin originally thought. Stranger had a very short temper, as he learned. He hated wasting time, something Ronin understood but Stranger took it very… seriously . 

    It was to the point he even considered sleep utterly useless. Just another thing that stood in the way of his big goal.

    Ronin doesn’t even know what this big goal of Stranger’s is. He just knew it had something to do with changing destiny. Whatever that meant. 

    Though, they haven’t known each other for very long. Just a couple of weeks and that was it. Ronin was curious about Stranger, but, Stranger almost seemed to never open up. Maybe one day he will. He thought, scratching his chin. 

    Eh, that day will come when it comes. Ronin shrugged. 

    “What are you doing?” Ronin heard the voice of his new comrade say. It was harsh and almost strict. Like teachers, “Nothin’,” Ronin replied, “What ‘bout you, sweetheart?” He asked, winking at his newfound friend in a teasing way. He rolled his eyes, “You keep that up and I’ll make sure all your debts are never paid off,” His friend replied, giving him a glare. Ronin punched him on his side, “Chill out! I was kiddin’, you gotta lighten up, Stranger!” Yet, Stranger only glared at him as if he was gonna kill him! Ronin just pretended he didn’t see anything. 

    Ronin still didn’t know what Stranger’s actual name was. To Ronin, it was impressive that Stranger was able to keep his name hidden for so long. Not many people could do that. Not to mention the fact that it’s been, at least, a couple of weeks since they first met. 

    Stranger has been able to protect Ronin’s gold, and Ronin has been taking Stranger out for adventures and such to look for the FSM’s grave. Ronin knew it was going to be a hard task, but he’ll be damned if he didn’t find it. 

    They were walking through some thick terrain, Ronin just wished he had some… flying machine of the sort to get through it. Though, tryin’ to think of some flyin’ machine was like pigs flyin’. It was damn near impossible. At least, Ronin thought it was. 

    Maybe one day. 

    But that day sure ain’t today. 

    Ronin watched as his comrade cut through the bushes, and branches, and all the sorts of things that were in the way. Ronin could tell that Stranger was definitely some trained master of sorts. It would explain how the wind moves through his command or just how he feels. 

    Ronin kept his arms resting on the back of his head as he continued to walk as if he had no care in the world. He knew that Stranger would protect him if any serious harm came to his way. He also would be able to protect himself. He didn’t live out here for this long without learning a thing or two. 

    Being on the streets toughens you up. It truly does. All the fights, all the betrayals . Ronin knew better than to trust a snake, he just hoped Stranger wasn’t one of them. 

    “Are you sure there is a hint over here?” Stranger asked, seeming doubtful. Ronin sighed, “Well if ya don’t wanna go check then it’s fine by me. Just don’t come cryin’ if ya find out this one is true,” Ronin said with a carefree smile. 

    Stranger groaned, “Fine. We’ll go check it out,” He said. Ronin hummed, “Fine by me, Stranger,” He replied. Stranger just huffed, seeming to dismiss him. Ronin could feel the wind grow harsher, almost, impatient. 

    “Chill out, Stranger. You’ll get there soon enough,” He said, trying to lighten the mood. Stranger scoffed, “Why did you decide to call me Stranger? Why not anything else?” Stranger said, swinging his sword in a harsher tone. 

    Ronin smirked, “What like, beautiful? My savor?” He batted his eyelashes in a sarcastic way, teasing the poor man. Stranger just sighed, “I hate you,” He spat out, “I hope you know that.” 

    “Or, a pain in my ass, a big jerk,” Ronin continued. Stranger just rolled his eyes again, “Why not by my name?” He asked, “Or something more tolerable?” Ronin smiled, “So, you’re willing to tell this wise guy your name after all this time?” He teased. 

    Stranger stopped in his tracks, “I’m going to fucking kill you,” He said, staring at Ronin dead in the eyes. Ronin resisted the chill down his spine, “Come on, tell me your name,” He asked again. 

    Yet nothing. 

    Ronin knew he said he found it impressive that Stranger was able to keep that secret, but, it was getting a little annoying not knowing. Ronin liked knowing things, and not knowing something like this , it was bothering him. 

Stranger just kept walking, the conversation became awkward. Ronin ignored it, it was easy to ignore when you didn’t really care. 

    __

    Morro tried to talk to Sensei Wu, he really did. Yet, each time he looked at those grey eyes, the same ones that once used to hold kindness and pride, were now filled with regret and sorrow. He hated it. He hated seeing the person he looked up to so dearly be like… this. 

    Morro sat in front of his sensei, ignoring the sad gaze that his sensei held. He could tell his sensei was thinking, he may already know what Morro was going to say. Or, some idea of it. Morro didn’t know. 

    “Sensei, we need to go out to find Lloyd. The longer we wait, the more trouble he may get into,” Morro said, a determined look on his face. His sensei sighed, “Yes, I know,” He said in a somber tone. 

    Morro couldn’t tell if it was because of him or Lloyd. He didn’t want to know.

    “I can go talk to Mystake, she may be able to give clues about where my nephew is,” Sensei Wu said, thinking of the old woman. Yet, Morro seemed almost scared of her. The way he flinched, just a bit, was a big indicator. If it were anyone else, nobody would’ve noticed it, maybe they would’ve thought there was some fly or something of the sort. But, Sensei Wu knew him long enough to know better. But, Sensei Wu was a little happy about that, some things didn’t change after all. 

    “Why would Mystake know anything? She’s just an old woman,” Morro grumbled. Sensei Wu knew it wasn’t that, but he didn’t make any comment about Morro’s fear, “She has her secrets, Morro. Even I don’t know all of them.” Sensei Wu said, “But, either way, she has many… special teas. Maybe one of them could aid us in finding my nephew.” Sensei Wu sipped his tea, remembering the seemingly endless tea that she has. 

    Morro paused and then groaned. 

    “Fine fine!” He exclaimed, getting up in an angered manner, he walked to the door. Sensei Wu got up as well, “No, Morro.” He said, making Morro stop in his tracks. Morro turned to face his sensei. Sensei Wu sighed, “You said yourself, there are some places that you may think has a clue in where Lloyd is. You have some of the ninjas split up and go look for clues, I’ll talk to Mystake.” Sensei Wu said, “Oh, also, tell them that it is my order. They’ll listen to you if it’s my order,” Sensei Wu added before leaving the room. 

    He could hear a sigh from the room, but he didn’t go a look to see it. He already knew what expression Morro held. 

    Sensei Wu walked with his bamboo staff, the same one he was given by his father. He was not exactly excited to talk to Mystake one on one again after all this time. Even he was able to admit she was one stubborn and… off woman. But, Sensei Wu couldn’t say anything. He had his own secrets he kept. 

    His students trained in the training sets. 

    He knew that he needed to be harsher on the ninjas, so they could be stronger. But, each time, he could only think. What if they turn out like Morro?

    Being a sensei wasn’t going to be easy, he knew that. But, he wished it wouldn’t be so heartbreaking.    

    He walked out the monastery doors. His students didn’t notice him, of course, they wouldn’t. Though, maybe it was because of his stealth rather than their… out of shape (puny) ninja skills. He just wished it was that. He hoped it was that.

    Sensei Wu summoned his dragon in a haste. He knew that they didn’t have much time on their hands so why waste it? 

He could almost feel the stares burning on his back, he knew then that his students gathered, at least, half of what was going on. Though, Sensei Wu didn’t turn back to face them, nor did he go back and tell them what was going on. Morro would do that for him.

Right now, he had a job to do.

He could see Jamanakai Village up ahead. It wasn’t that far of a walk, or fly, to get to there anyways.

Once he landed, his dragon disappeared into thin air. It no longer had a use, for now. He wanted to talk to Mystake and that was going to happen, no matter what.

Morro on the other hand, he had some trouble.

Though Sensei Wu told him that his ninjas would listen to his command, the ninjas did not believe that Sensei Wu even said that in the first place. It pissed Morro off, the way they doubted him, he felt as though he was looked down on.

“I’m telling you! He’s up to no good!” Kai exclaimed. Morro ignored him, “So, when I tell Sensei Wu about you all ignoring his orders, that would be okay with you?” Morro replied.

“Stop pretending he’s your Sensei!” Kai snapped back. Morro bit his lip to prevent him from snapping, Kai really got on his fucking nerves. He could tell Kai was going to make another snarky remark before Zane stopped him, “Maybe,” he started, “We should listen to him. He is our superior, and Sensei Wu trusts him,” Zane finished.

Zane was now officially Morro’s favorite of Sensei Wu’s other students. Though, he could not compare to Lloyd.

“Just because sensei trusts him, doesn’t mean we should too,” Nya said. Morro scowled, he had enough of this chit-chat, “Look. I don’t care if you trust me or not.” He started, “But you are Ninja, are you not? If not, get the fuck out of this monastery, because you do not belong here if you aren’t a ninja.” He said in a harsh tone, glaring down at each one of them.

“We are all Sensei Wu’s students, whether I like it or not. And Lloyd, is his nephew.” Morro paused, “Help me find him.” He finished.

He still hated saying the word help, it was so… irritating.

Cole was the first to step up, “Morro has a point, guys,” He said, walking next to Morro, “We don’t have to trust him, but we can help him,” Cole put a fist up.

It seemed to hype up the ninjas. Though, Kai was still.. a bit doubtful. Morro could tell by his eye roll and groan, “Fine,” Kai grumbled. The other ninjas ignored him, Morro knew then that they were all too used to his complains. 

“So what’s the plan, boss?” Cole asked, “We’re at your service.” Cole said, a smirk on his face.

Morro cleared his throat, “We need to split up into three teams. One that it’s NINJAGO City, the other in Darkely’s School for Bad Boys, and the final around the area of Stiixs.” Morro pointed out. They landed somewhere near Stiix, but, the beach that Morro found was the exactly opposite of Stiix. So, Lloyd could have traveled the opposite direction of Stiix, but Morro needed to be sure. He’s rather not risk it.

“Well, who’s gonna pick the teams?” Jay asked, looking at his fellow ninja for help. “Well, I suppose that we can play a randomized game of sticks could help,” Zane pipped up, already having a cup of sticks in his hand, “Where did you-” “I plan ahead.” 

Morro sighed. “Teams of two,” He said. Two people each team.

He felt stupid the way they picked out teams. It was just so childish, he hated it.

He pulled out two sticks for the first team, “Who said he was gonna pick teams, huh?!” Kai exclaimed, “Drop it, Kai.” Nya said, crossing her arms. 

Zane 

Nya

Which was the first team. Morro could see Jay pout. Zane smiled to Nya and Nya smiled back. He knew they would make a good team.

Morro pulled out another two sticks.

Jay

Cole

He frowned, he knew who he was paired up with them. Jay and Cole were just happy to be paired with each other. 

But, “No way in hell am I pairing up with this guy!” Kai said, stomping his foot down to the ground and pointing at Morro. Morro could almost see sparks of fire from where Kai stepped, he hummed.

“Come one, Kai!” Nya said, seeming tired of her brother, “Yeah, Kai!” Jay backed up Nya, he has his arms in his hips, trying to have more dramatic effect.

They all argued about this and that. Morro didn’t have enough patience to deal with any of them, “Enough! Look, kid, I don’t want to team up with you in the first place, don’t make it harder for the both of us.” Morro said.

Kai scowled. Morro grabbed the final two sticks that laid in the can. 

Kai

Morro

Morro looked at Cole, expectantly, “You know this team better than I do. You choose where they go, but I, I go to Stiix.” He said, already turning his back on them.

“Hey! Who said-” 

“Kai, if you say another FUCKING word.” Morro started, gritting his teeth. Morro didn’t need to finish his sentence. Kai kept quiet, but, he still seemed… angry. He always seemed angry from what Morro has seen. He was like Morro that way. 

Chapter Text

It’s been a few hours since Ronin first dropped off the two. Well, maybe more. Lloyd hasn’t kept count. 

The moment Ronin dropped the two off, they immediately went to the temple Ronin mentioned. For some reason, Lloyd felt as thought time was passing slower or faster in that temple but he didn’t know why.  

He didn’t really care about why. 

If Lloyd had to be completely honest, he was more concerned about Benthomaar. It seemed a little awkward between him and Benthomaar. Benthomaar—he seemed… distant.

Lloyd wouldn’t blame him. Maybe he started to hate Lloyd for causing all this mess. But he's been putting decisions onto himself as if Lloyd couldn’t do anything. Benthomaar would act as if he didn’t need any help. And when Lloyd tried to offer, Benthomaar would kindly refuse.

Lloyd felt a little useless, he won’t lie.

He knew he could help but Benthomaar wouldn’t let him. Lloyd remembered how Benthomaar was the one to clean up the place, how Benthomaar was the one to scare away all the possums and raccoons that lived in the corners, and how Benthomaar was the one to keep guard 24/7.

Though Lloyd will admit, he didn’t want to be the one to deal with the possums. 

Lloyd sat on the cold wooden floor. It creaked each time Lloyd even moved a muscle. He would lean on his arm and a long, olden creak would follow. It scared him sometimes, not from himself creaking the floors, but from small animals or even Benthomaar walking just surprises him. 

Lloyd looked down at the wooden boards. The little details of each board never seemed to repeat. Which was odd since Lloyd could usually find a pattern in things, even on wooden boards. But, he found that it would, at least, help a bit with his boredom. They had nothing to do in this old temple! It was so boring! 

He followed the curves and cracks with his finger, not daring to put any pressure down, in fear he would break it. Though, he already sat on it, so why fear? 

Though, he was scared of getting a splinter. He hated getting those, but it didn’t stop him from following the trail. Can’t let fear control you! He learned that from Starfarer and his master. Though, Lloyd doubted his master was scared of anything. He seemed as sharp as nails!

Lloyd sighed, he was so bored! He looked up, trying to find his shark friend. 

And there he was.

He stood, looking out the windows with no glass. Benthomaar leaned on the frame and let his arms rest on the wood. 

Lloyd wondered what he thought. It wasn’t the first time he wondered what his water-like friend thought. Maybe he thought of home, back where he felt safe and protected. Or maybe of the grass on the hill they were on, how they were similar to the kelp Benthomaar grew nearby. Well, maybe they were completely different. But, Lloyd liked to think they were similar. 

Lloyd looked back down to the wooden floor. He chose to not think about it. There was no point in doing so.

He wondered of his master. Master Morro. What would he be doing? Lloyd thought. Maybe he was out, scolding everything and everyone like he always does. 

Maybe he was out looking for him. Lloyd wouldn’t lie, he was happy to think of his master looking for him. It made him feel special. Or maybe Master was sad or angry at himself when he yelled at him. 

Lloyd felt sick thinking those thoughts.

But, he couldn’t help to have this satisfaction of his master just being angry at himself. The thought of him being sad because he made a mistake just got to Lloyd.

Lloyd frowned.

He wanted to yell and be angry at his master. He wanted to yell about how he didn’t even want to be the Green Ninja. That, if he could, he would give him the stupid title of Green Ninja. 

But he was also sad. Sad about the fact that- that he stole everything from his master. Lloyd didn’t even deserve the title of Green Ninja. His master did! It wasn’t fair that some puny kid was going to be the Green Ninja and not the guy who trained his entire life for the title! 

He didn’t- he doesn’t want to be the Green Ninja.

Lloyd gritted his teeth, he could feel his throat tighten. He hated this, he just wanted out. He just hated destiny. 

Lloyd groaned and lay on his back, laying his arms and legs out like a starfish.

He wouldn’t think about it.

He wasn’t about to just feel sorry for himself either about this whole damn situation. 

It’s his fault. He’s the reason they’re all in this fucking mess in the first place! 

If he had just stayed with his master, then none of this would’ve happened! Benthomaar could still be at home and Lloyd- Lloyd could be at home with his master. Maybe Master Morro would be scolding him, or praising him. Probably not praising him. But…

Lloyd snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a voice ask, “Are you bored?” He knew that Benthomaar was asking him since there was no one else with them. “Something like that,” Lloyd replied, staring at the ceiling, not wanting to make eye contact with Benthomaar.

Benthomaar sat next to Lloyd, his legs crossed.

Benthomaar looked at Lloyd, he seemed so different. Not just with the outside appearance. I mean, he could admit that Lloyd barely looked like the kid that Benthomaar first met. Lloyd’s hair was now brown. Not the mention that the deep red eyes were now emerald green. 

But he seemed a bit more distant. When Benthomaar first met Lloyd, Lloyd was very happy and excited. He seemed to be ready for more. But now, Lloyd could barely even look at Benthomaar in the eyes for longer than 5 minutes. 

Benthomaar felt as though he was the reason for it. He wanted to know why, maybe then he could do better as a friend. He wasn’t about to ruin one of his first-ever real friendship! 

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, looking down at his friend. He wanted to start soft and play it cool. Lloyd rolled to the side opposite Benthomaar, “Talk about what?” Lloyd asked, seeming innocent. But, Benthomaar could tell he wasn’t really into it. Maybe he was angry or grumpy. 

But he knew something was off. 

Benthomaar sighed. 

“Come on, kid, tell me what’s wrong,” Benthomaar asked, a small smile on his face while he nudged Lloyd on his shoulder. Lloyd crawled more into himself. Benthomaar frowned. Did he make him that mad?

 “Are we not friends anymore, Lloyd?” He asked, quitting on being slow and deciding to be straighforward. He wanted- no . Needed to know. 

Lloyd instantly sat up which surprised Benthomaar, “No no!” Lloyd exclaimed. Benthomaar met Lloyd’s glance. Lloyd looked down at the wooden floor immediately. Lloyd started fidgeting with his fingers, “Lloyd please,” Benthomaar said, “Look at me.”

Lloyd hesitated before looking up at Benthomaar. He didn’t know why, but it seemed such a.. hard task. He wanted to beat himself over it, he was such a baby.

“What’s wrong?” Benthomaar asked again. His soft tone threw off Lloyd. Lloyd bit his bottom lip, “Nothings wrong- it’s just,” Lloyd took a deep breath. He needed to say this. Benthomaar already knew in the first place.

“It’s my fault that we’re even in this situation!” Lloyd exclaimed, he could already feel his eyes forming tears and his throat tightening. 

Lloyd clenched his fists, tightly shutting his eyes, trying to get rid of the tears forming, “If I never hadrun, you would’ve never met me and Prince Kalmaar would’ve never-!”

“Stop!” Benthomaar exclaimed. Lloyd flinched back, opening his eyes again. He looked up to Benthomaar. He looked so… sad.

“Just… stop , Lloyd,” Benthomaar said. Lloyd’s heart dropped. It was his fault. Benthomaar could even see it!

Benthomaar grabbed Lloyd. Lloyd tensed, he was prepared for whatever Benthomaar was going to do. Lloyd deserved it anyways.

“Lloyd. It’s not your fault.” 

What?

Benthomaar pulled Lloyd into a tight hug. Lloyd could barely even breathe.

“But, it… is my fault?” Lloyd replied, confused. He didn’t know what to do. Was he supposed to hug Benthomaar back? What… what was he supposed to do?

“No, Lloyd.” Benthomaar stroked Lloyd’s hair. Lloyd could tell he was trying to soothe him. “It wasn’t your fault.” Benthomaar sounded so firm and confident, it made Lloyd doubt himself.

Benthomaar let go of Lloyd. Lloyd dared not to look at him, it was his fault. It was his fault! It was his fault! It was his fault! It was his fault! It was his fault! 

It was his fault and no one else’s! 

Lloyd hugged himself. If he just think of somewhere else he wouldn’t be here. He couldn’t face the fact that it was his fault. He was such a coward.

“Lloyd. Kalmaar- my brother. He was,” Benthomaar took a pause. He seemed as though he was trying to find a way to say something. Lloyd didn’t know what. 

Lloyd kept his eyes on the ground. His heart raced yet no thoughts came to mind. He could feel himself breathing too fast . 

…

Lloyd heard Benthomaar take a deep breath.

 “He was already killing humans way before you met him.”